What Are the Main Health & Safety Courses You Need in the UK?
If you’re an employer trying to work out which health and safety courses your team actually needs, the options can feel endless. NEBOSH, IOSH, IPAF, PASMA, CITB, first aid, forklift — the list of acronyms grows fast. The reality is that most businesses only need a handful of core qualifications, matched to the specific risks their people face day to day.
This guide cuts through the noise and covers the main health and safety courses UK employers and workers should know about.
IOSH Managing Safely
For most managers and supervisors, IOSH Managing Safely is the logical starting point. Delivered by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, it’s a practical course designed for people who aren’t safety specialists but who still carry responsibility for the wellbeing of others at work.
The course typically runs over three to four days and covers:
Risk assessment and how to carry one out
Investigating and reporting accidents and near misses
Understanding your legal duties as a manager
Controlling and reducing hazards in the workplace
IOSH Managing Safely is recognised across most UK industries and is widely accepted by principal contractors as a baseline qualification for site managers and supervisors. It gives people a genuine understanding of safety responsibilities rather than a surface-level awareness, which is the difference between training that changes behaviour and training that just produces a certificate.
NEBOSH Qualifications
NEBOSH sits a level above IOSH and is suited to those moving into dedicated health and safety roles or those whose work carries more complex risk profiles. The NEBOSH General Certificate is the most common qualification and is relevant across almost every sector. The NEBOSH Construction Certificate is tailored specifically for site environments.
While IOSH Managing Safely can be completed in a few days, NEBOSH qualifications involve more in-depth study and assessment. They carry more weight when demonstrating competence to regulators, insurers, and clients.
CITB Site Safety Plus
For anyone working in construction, CITB Site Safety Plus courses are a common requirement. The two most relevant are:
SSSTS (Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme)— a two-day course for supervisors and team leaders on construction sites
SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme)— a five-day course for site managers, and a requirement on many principal contractor sites
Many larger contractors will not allow management personnel on site without an SMSTS or SSSTS card, so these qualifications are often non-negotiable.
Work at Height: IPAF and PASMA
Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace fatalities in the UK. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 place a clear duty on employers to ensure anyone working at height is trained and competent for the specific equipment they use.
Two certifications cover the most common scenarios:
IPAF MEWP operator training certifies operators of mobile elevating work platforms — scissor lifts, boom lifts, and similar equipment. The IPAF card (also called a PAL Card) is recognised globally and required on most commercial and construction sites where MEWPs are in use. Training is practical and hands-on, with operators assessed on the specific category of machine they will be using.
PASMA training covers the safe assembly, inspection, use, and dismantling of mobile access towers. It’s essential for anyone who erects or uses tower scaffolding as part of their work.
Neither qualification substitutes for the other. If your team uses both MEWPs and mobile towers, both qualifications are needed.
Forklift and Plant Machinery
For materials handling and construction environments, RTITB and NPORS certifications cover the main ground:
RTITBaccredits operator training for counterbalance forklifts, reach trucks, Moffetts, and other warehouse and logistics equipment
NPORScovers a wide range of plant machinery, including excavators, dumpers, telehandlers, and crane-related operations such as signalling and slinging
Operators using plant or materials handling equipment without a recognised certification put themselves, their colleagues, and their employers at risk. Most site operators and principal contractors require these certifications as a condition of working on site.
First Aid at Work
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to have adequate first aid cover in place. What that means in practice depends on your workforce size and the nature of your work, but for most employers it means having at least one person trained to First Aid at Work (FAW) standard.
The FAW qualification runs over three days and covers CPR, dealing with injuries, managing unconsciousness, and a range of other emergency scenarios. Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) is a shorter one-day qualification suited to lower-risk environments. Both certificates expire after three years and require renewal.
Choosing a Training Provider
The certifications are only as good as the training behind them. When selecting a provider, look for instructors who have worked in the industries they train for, not just people who teach theory. Practical delivery, small class sizes, and awarding body accreditation are the things that separate training that sticks from training that doesn’t.
Kentec Training, based in Tonbridge, Kent, delivers all of the courses covered in this guide. As an approved provider for IPAF, PASMA, CITB, the Ladder Association, IOSH, NEBOSH, and several other awarding bodies, Kentec takes a quality-over-volume approach that focuses on genuine competence rather than throughput. Visit kentectraining.co.uk to browse the full course list or get in touch with the team.
