Small firms rely more heavily on internal health and safety training, particularly training offered to employees in general. External training is more widespread in organisations with more than 50 employees. External methods use written documents as well as training and informal discussions. Small firms rely more heavily on internal training. Large firms more likely to offer training across the range of health and safety issues and also a wider range of delivery methods.
Small firms require more attention to increase their coverage of health and safety training.
External training is most effectively delivered through interactive methods - presentations to staff, workshops and training sessions. The research noted training needs in risk assessment and hazard spotting, despite the fact that this is one of the most widely covered topics. Around one in three did not feel sufficiently informed about musculoskeletal disorders and health and safety management and more training was requested on these subjects.