Author Steven Mullan 09.11.2023
Who needs risk assessment training? We explore the importance of risk assessment training, industries that benefit from it and the specific professionals who should consider undergoing this training.
Every employer in Great Britain is bound by law to protect the health of their employees and the public, whose work may be harmed. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required at the very least to:
Identify hazards that could cause injury or illness in the business.
Determine how likely these hazards are to harm someone (i.e., the risk)
Act to eliminate or control the risk of these hazards hurting people.
What Are Risk Assessments?
So, what are risk assessments? Risk assessments are a systematic approach to identifying potential hazards, evaluating their risks, and determining appropriate ways to eliminate or control them. It is an integral component of any robust safety management system.
Whilst employers, for the most part, are responsible for assessing risks in the workplace, this is just one aspect of the overall process of controlling risks in the workplace. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) notes that no person is exclusively responsible for maintaining workplace health and safety — it’s a job that must be shared by business owners, managers, supervisors, contractors and even employees.
In fact, the HSE states: “Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions at work.”
Risk assessment training enables employers to equip workers with the essential skills to identify, assess, and control hazards in their work environment. Risk assessment training plays a crucial role in maintaining a safe and productive workplace in today's uncertain business landscape.
There are all kinds of risk assessment training courses aimed at individuals who are typically responsible for conducting risk assessments at their workplaces, including health and safety officers, managers, supervisors and business owners. For example, the SM Safety Training offers a Certificate in Risk Assessment to professionals willing to complete a short course.
There are also specific types of risk assessment training, such as those focusing on identifying and managing fire hazards or electrical hazards at work.
Example of an IOSH risk assessment form.
What Is Risk Assessment Training?
Risk assessment training enables individual employees to conduct comprehensive and effective risk assessments. Trainees learn how to identify hazards, determine their potential impact, and implement controls to mitigate the associated risks.
Risk assessment training typically includes these components:
Risk identification: Understanding how to identify potential hazards in a given environment.
Risk analysis: Evaluating the potential impact of each identified risk, often considering the likelihood of its occurrence and its potential impact.
Risk evaluation: Determining which risks are significant or critical and must be addressed immediately.
Risk control: Learning about different strategies to manage, mitigate, or eliminate identified risks. This could include both proactive and reactive strategies.
Documentation and communication: Recording the risk assessment process and results and effectively communicating the findings to relevant stakeholders.
Industries That Need Risk Assessment Training
Given the universal need to understand and manage potential risks in the workplace,
Risk assessment training is invaluable for various job roles across numerous sectors.
Project Managers: At the helm of every project, Project Managers are responsible for foreseeing, identifying and addressing potential risks that could derail their project’s success. With risk assessment training, they can better analyse these risks' probability and potential impact, devise effective mitigation strategies and make informed decisions that ensure project success.
Health and Safety Officers: These professionals are charged with the crucial responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy work environment. Risk assessment training equips them with the tools to identify potential hazards, evaluate their severity and implement appropriate control measures.
IT Security Professionals: Cyber threats are an ever-present risk in the digital age. IT security professionals can use risk assessment training to identify vulnerabilities in their systems, evaluate the potential impact of breaches and implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data. More importantly, risk assessment training can help identify risks associated with human error — a factor that accounts for 95% of IT security breaches.
Financial Analysts: These professionals deal with financial risks daily. Risk assessment training can help them better understand and quantify these risks, allowing for more robust financial planning and decision-making. This can result in better financial stability and performance for the organisation.
Human Resources Professionals: They may also benefit from risk assessment training. It can help them identify potential risks in areas like recruitment, employee relations, compensation, and compliance, allowing them to devise strategies that prevent costly lawsuits and maintain a positive work environment.
However, Industries That Need Risk Assessment Training Risk assessment training can involve an organisation’s planning and decision-making processes or benefit anyone. The skills learned in this training can be applied in many sectors, from healthcare and construction to IT and finance.
Additional reading What is A Dynamic Risk Assessment
Contact us today for more information. If you need to train your managers, supervisors, or anyone who has taken on a health and safety role, why not enrol in our IOSH Managing Safely course? Click here for more information.