Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed to keep their employees safe, so far as is reasonably practicable. You can find the official guidance on the HSE website.
Good training helps a business to:
- Reduce workplace accidents and injuries
- Meet its legal obligations
- Cut downtime and absence
- Build a positive safety culture
- Protect its reputation with clients and contractors
View our Health and Safety Courses here.
This page is for procurement managers, training managers and HSE leads comparing options. It sets out how on-site and in-house delivery differ, how group and framework bookings work and how on-site assessment fits in
The right training depends on your sites, your workforce and the risks involved. Some staff need basic awareness training, while supervisors, managers, directors and high-risk workers need more. Tell us the courses, numbers, sites and dates, and we will come back with a plan.
The two terms overlap, and people use them in different ways. In practice there are three ways to get a team trained:
- Open course at one of our training centres: your people attend alongside other companies. Best for three - ten people.
- In-house training: a course for your people only, arranged around your team and built around your own procedures.
- On-site training: a course for your people only, delivered at your site or premises. Best for larger teams and for site-specific kit and hazards.
On-site training means the trainer comes to you. It works well when the course is practical and your own equipment or working environment is part of the learning, or when sending a whole crew to a centre would cost more in downtime than the course itself. You will need a suitable training area, and some courses also need specific equipment, so tell us what you have available when you enquire.
In-house training courses are sessions run for your staff only, rather than a place on an open course. They can include bespoke training courses, where the examples, site rules and risk scenarios are built around your own operation. Accredited courses still have to cover the syllabus set by the awarding body, so bespoke content changes the context and examples, not the required content.
The two are often combined. An in-house course for your staff, delivered at your site, is simply on-site training that is also private to your team.
On-site first aid training is a common request. EFAW is a one-day course and First Aid at Work is three days, and both certificates are valid for three years. Your first aid needs assessment decides which one your sites need. Running either course on site means a full shift team can be covered in one visit instead of a few people at a time. See our First Aid courses.
If a site has no spare room, some contractors use a welfare cabin or a mobile training unit. Tell us which you have and we will confirm what can be delivered there.
Group and Framework Bookings
A group booking puts several delegates on one booking for one course. A framework booking is a standing arrangement, so your sites can book training as and when they need it without setting up terms again each time.
For a multi-site contractor, the value is consistency. One set of terms, one booking process and one contact, rather than every site sourcing training on its own.
Corporate programmes usually need to cover every level of the business:
- Site teams: awareness training such as CITB Health and Safety Awareness, plus the access, plant and trade courses their work requires
- Supervisors: SSSTS
- Managers: SMSTS and IOSH Managing Safely
- Directors: director-level training such as the CITB Director's Role for Health and Safety (DRHS)
We are accredited by CITB, IPAF, PASMA, UKATA, EUSR and GWO, so one provider can cover most of the schemes a construction workforce draws on. See our CITB courses for the supervisor, manager and director routes. Enquiries go to our training coordinators, who aim to respond within 15 minutes, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays.
Course sizes are capped by the awarding body or scheme, so a large team will usually need several sessions. Pricing depends on the courses, numbers and locations involved, so we quote against your requirements.
To scope a group or framework arrangement, we need to know:
- Which courses you need
- How many delegates, and across how many sites
- Your preferred dates or renewal windows
- Any procurement requirements, such as purchase orders or approved supplier processes
An NVQ is a work-based qualification. It does not teach new skills in a classroom. It recognises what your people already do on site.
On-site NVQ assessment works through an assessor gathering evidence from real work. That evidence typically includes observation of the candidate working, a portfolio of evidence such as photos and job records, and a professional discussion about their role. Candidates need to be working in a relevant role with access to live work, because the assessor needs real tasks to assess.
On site assessment suits employers with experienced operatives who hold no formal qualification. The work carries on as normal and the evidence comes from jobs already under way, so there is no block of time off site. See our National Vocational Qualifications page for what is available.
Assessor availability can vary by trade and region, so check coverage for your sites with us when you enquire.
Multi-Site Scheduling
Training across several sites is mostly a planning job. A few things make it easier:
- Send us your site list and headcount early. We can then plan sessions around your sites rather than the other way round.
- Work back from certificate expiry dates. Many core certificates last three to five years. For example, EFAW lasts three years, and PASMA Towers for Users and SMSTS each last five. Staggered expiry dates across a large workforce mean refreshers arrive all year round, so batch them by region.
- Plan around shifts and site access. Sessions that fit around shift patterns, inductions and delivery slots cause less disruption than ones that do not.
- Allow for course size limits. Capped course sizes mean a big team is split across sessions, so build that into the programme from the start.
Request a Corporate Quote
The right training depends on your sites, your workforce and the risks involved. Some staff need basic awareness training, while supervisors, managers, directors and high-risk workers need more. Tell us the courses, numbers, sites and dates, and we will come back with a plan.
Request a quote
You can also call 0808 168 6788 or email training@onestopsafetytraining.com.
