There is no single list of safety courses that every South African company must send every employee on. The training your business needs depends on the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the regulations that apply to your workplace, the number of employees, the hazards employees face and the duties certain people are expected to perform.

The correct approach is to start with your legal duties and workplace risks, then identify who needs what training, on which shift, and how you will keep that competence current.

Why there is no universal training checklist

Section 8 of the OHS Act requires employers to provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work.

That means the employer must first understand the hazards and legal requirements that apply to its own workplace.

A small office, a warehouse, a manufacturing plant and a construction site will not have identical training requirements.

The better question is not:

“Which courses are compulsory for every company?”

It is:

“Which employees need competence for the legal duties, hazards and emergency roles in our workplace?”

1. First aid training

First aid is one of the clearest examples of a direct workplace training requirement.

Under the General Safety Regulations, where more than 10 employees are employed at a workplace, the employer must ensure that a person holding a valid certificate of competency in first aid is readily available during normal working hours.

The normal ratios are:

• Shops and offices: at least one trained first aider for every 100 employees or part thereof;
• Other workplaces: at least one trained first aider for every 50 employees or part thereof.

The practical issue is not only how many certificates exist. The trained people must actually be available when employees are working.

Related article: Does Every Shift Need Its Own Trained First Aider?

2. Health and safety representative training

Where health and safety representatives are required, appointing somebody is not the end of the process.

Section 18 of the OHS Act requires the employer to provide the facilities, assistance and training that health and safety representatives may reasonably require to perform their functions.

A representative needs to understand how to:

• Inspect the workplace;
• Identify potential hazards;
• Raise employee concerns;
• Participate in incident investigations;
• Make recommendations to management; and
• Participate effectively in health and safety committee activities.

Training service: Safety Representative Training

3. Fire-fighting training

This area is often oversimplified.

There is not one universal rule saying that every workplace must train a fixed number of employees on a course called “Basic Fire Fighting”.

However, employers must provide suitable fire precautions and emergency arrangements based on the workplace and its fire risk. The General Safety Regulations were amended in 2025 to strengthen requirements relating to fire precautions, means of egress and suitable firefighting equipment.

The employer should therefore use its fire risk assessment and emergency plan to decide whether employees need practical firefighting competence and how many trained people are needed to provide realistic coverage.

In many workplaces, training selected employees in basic firefighting is a sensible and important part of the emergency system.

4. Evacuation warden training

The same principle applies to evacuation wardens.

The law requires employers to provide safe emergency arrangements, but it does not prescribe one universal national ratio of “one evacuation warden per X employees” for every type of workplace.

The employer should determine the number and distribution of wardens from factors such as:

• The size and layout of the premises;
• The number of employees and visitors;
• Different floors or buildings;
• Shift arrangements;
• Mobility-impaired occupants;
• The number of exits;
• High-risk areas; and
• The emergency response structure.

The question is whether the evacuation can be managed effectively if an emergency happens today.

5. OHS legal liability training for managers and supervisors

Managers and supervisors do not need legal-liability training because a specific section of the Act says every manager must attend a course with that exact title.

They need it because they exercise authority over people, work methods, equipment and resources, and the OHS Act places duties on the employer and management structure to make sure health and safety requirements are implemented.

Training should help managers understand:

• Section 8 employer duties;
• Section 16 management responsibilities;
• How assigned duties work;
• The importance of acting on known hazards;
• When unsafe work should be stopped;
• What must be escalated; and
• Why appointing a safety officer does not transfer management responsibility.

Related article: Does Appointing a Safety Officer Transfer Management’s Legal Liability?

6. Risk assessment training

Risk assessment is central to deciding what other training is needed.

If the people conducting or reviewing risk assessments do not understand hazards, controls and the actual work, the company may build its entire training plan on weak information.

Competent risk assessors should understand the relevant work, hazards, control measures and the company’s chosen assessment methodology.

Related article: What Is a HIRA? Risk Assessment Under OHSA Explained

7. Incident investigation training

When an incident occurs, a poor investigation often ends with a conclusion such as “employee failed to pay attention”.

That does not help the employer understand why the incident became possible.

People responsible for incident investigations should know how to gather evidence, distinguish immediate causes from underlying causes, identify failed controls and recommend corrective actions.

8. Hazard-specific training

Some workplace risks trigger much more specific information and training requirements.

For example, the Physical Agents Regulations, 2025 require employers to provide suitable information and training relating to physical-agent exposure. The Department’s explanatory notes say this training should be specific to the workplace and supported by evidence of trainer competence, attendance and training content.

Other regulations may create training or competence requirements relating to:

• Noise exposure;
• Hazardous chemical agents;
• Asbestos;
• Driven machinery;
• Lifting machinery;
• Construction activities;
• Electrical work;
• Working at height;
• Confined spaces; or
• Other specialist hazards.

This is why training should follow the risk profile rather than a generic course catalogue.

9. What about working-at-height training?

If employees are exposed to fall risks or use fall-protection systems, the employer needs to ensure they are competent for the work and understand the procedures and equipment they are expected to use.

The precise training will depend on the role.

For example, different competence may be required for:

• A worker using fall-arrest equipment;
• A person performing rescue;
• A ladder user;
• A fall-protection planner;
• A TSP operator;
• A TSP erector; or
• A TSP supervisor.

Training service: Work at Heights Training

10. Does every employee need the same training?

No.

The receptionist, warehouse picker, maintenance electrician and plant manager do not face the same hazards and do not perform the same legal duties.

A strong training system distinguishes between:

11. Why shift coverage matters

A business can appear compliant on a spreadsheet while still having large gaps in practice.

For example, all the first aiders or emergency-response personnel may work day shift while the plant operates 24 hours.

The training matrix should therefore include:

Who is trained, where they work, which shift they work, when their certificate expires and who provides backup when they are absent.

12. What happens when trained employees leave?

This is one of the most common reasons compliance deteriorates.

A first aider resigns. A safety representative transfers departments. A supervisor is promoted. Nobody updates the matrix.

The company may then discover months later that the required coverage no longer exists.

Training compliance should therefore form part of onboarding, transfers, resignations and workforce planning.

13. How often should safety training be refreshed?

There is no single renewal period that applies to every type of safety training.

Some certificates or competencies have defined validity or retraining requirements. Others should be refreshed when:

• The law or applicable standard changes;
• The employee changes role;
• New equipment or hazards are introduced;
• An incident reveals a knowledge gap;
• A drill identifies poor performance;
• The risk assessment changes; or
• The employer determines that refresher training is necessary.

The Department’s explanatory notes to the Physical Agents Regulations, for example, state that relevant information and training should occur on commencement and thereafter at least annually for those regulated exposures.

14. What proof of training should the employer keep?

A certificate alone is not always enough.

Depending on the requirement, useful evidence may include:

• Training provider details;
• Proof of trainer competence where relevant;
• Attendance records;
• Course or training content;
• Assessment results;
• Certificates;
• Issue and expiry dates;
• Employee department and shift; and
• Records of refresher training.

15. What does a good training matrix look like?

A useful training matrix allows management to see, at a glance:

What training is required, who needs it, who has completed it, when it expires, which shift is covered and what is still outstanding.

It should be treated as a live compliance document rather than a static spreadsheet that is updated once before an audit.

16. The biggest training mistake

The biggest mistake is buying courses without first deciding what the business actually needs.

A company may train 20 people in basic firefighting while failing to train enough first aiders, or train safety representatives without checking whether they were properly designated.

The correct sequence is:

Legal requirement → workplace risk → role → required competence → training → evidence → ongoing monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

What safety training is compulsory in South Africa?

There is no single universal list for every workplace. Required training depends on the OHS Act, the regulations that apply, employee numbers, assigned duties and workplace hazards.

Is first aid training compulsory?

Where more than 10 employees are employed at a workplace, the General Safety Regulations require appropriately certified first aiders to be readily available during normal working hours, subject to the applicable ratios and workplace circumstances.

Is safety representative training compulsory?

The OHS Act requires employers to provide health and safety representatives with the training they may reasonably require to perform their functions effectively.

Is fire-fighting training compulsory for every workplace?

There is no single national rule requiring every employer to train a fixed number of people on a course with that exact title. Employers must assess their fire risk, provide suitable fire precautions and determine the emergency-response competence needed.

Are evacuation wardens legally required in every workplace?

The law requires suitable emergency arrangements, but it does not prescribe one universal warden ratio for all workplaces. The number and distribution of responsible people should be based on the emergency plan, workplace layout, occupancy, shifts and risk.

Do managers need legal-liability training?

There is no universal provision requiring every manager to attend a course with that exact name, but managers need sufficient knowledge to understand and discharge the OHS duties associated with the people and activities they control.

How do I know what training my company is missing?

Compare your legal register, risk assessments, legal appointments, emergency plan and actual workforce against your current training matrix. This usually reveals missing competence, expired certificates and shift-coverage gaps.

Related articles and services

• How Do I Know If My Workplace Is OHS Compliant in South Africa?
• Health and Safety Courses
• First Aid Training
• Safety Representative Training
• Work at Heights Training
• Does Every Shift Need Its Own Trained First Aider?
• Does Appointing a Safety Officer Transfer Management’s Legal Liability?

Legal references

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 — particularly Sections 8 and 18
• General Safety Regulations — first aid and emergency/fire-related requirements
• Physical Agents Regulations, 2025, where applicable
• Other OHS regulations applicable to the workplace’s specific hazards and activities

This article provides general information and does not replace a workplace-specific legal compliance and training-needs assessment.