Currently delegates at our training courses sign an attendance form at the start. I'd like to change this to something they sign at the end which acknowledges at least that they understood the training. Would anyone be able to share examples of any wording you use for something like this? Does anyone include other items in any similar statement? I know this doesn't prove that someone was competent, or even that the training was any good, but at least being able to confirm that our trainees understood what was being delivered should be useful? Any comments or criticisms would be appreciated - thanks

Thanks Peter - we run lots of different courses and most have some sort of test or check. What I was thinking about was having a statement which is there for every single training activity in addition to any test, whether it's a workplace induction, a certificated food hygeine course or a refresher on how to use our site-specific risk assessments. You're right about needing more than just a signature to confirm the usefulness of the training.

I agree with Peter that a simple/easy multichoice 'quiz' at the end is the less problematic solution. When I was in the fire service, I (along with my colleagues) were ask to sign to confirm we had read & understood a 400 page document which was our H&S policy. I crossed out the word 'understand' from the form so to show I had read the document but I could not be absolutely sure I understood every paragraph on every page. It caused a few issues. The point is, how can you ask someone if they understood any training? They may think they have, but may be wrong. Legally, it's a minefield. A sample Q&A at the end of any input is a much better method. We use around 10 different sets of Q&A papers after fire training which we use at random. They are designed to be easy, if not fun to complete and form a wider questionnaire aimed at training/trainer feedback

I would personally call it confirmation of learning as opposed to training and I also would apply an end test. I doubt any signed statement of understanding would stand up in court. All of our outlet management teams have to attend an in-house course on managing safety within their stores and they have to pass it to be allowed to take reponsibility. They get 2 attempts. As an incentive ;-) we tell the area managers that they are responsible for what goes on in each store until there is a manager in place who has passed the course.