Practical skills for auditors course (PSAC)
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-23)

This course enables delegates to gain skills and confidence to undertake effective and value-adding audits.

Course aim

The overall aim of the practical skills for auditors course is to give the skills and confidence to undertake effective and value-adding audits. This is achieved by planning and undertaking a scenario-based audit, reporting and raising any subsequent findings. Findings are drafted to allow the auditee to conduct successful root cause analysis and implement effective corrective actions. This auditing skills course reflects emerging thinking from UK CAA/EASA on the Management System and defining organisational roles and responsibilities. It also encompasses the ISO 19011 philosophies and covers audit planning, control, execution and findings. This course discusses the need to find real solutions and how to report these back effectively to management.

This training is a tools and techniques course with a balanced mix of group discussions, flipchart work and PowerPoint presentations. Managed syndicate exercises give you the opportunity to practise the application and evaluation of new processes and techniques.

On completion of this course, new and developing quality auditors will be better able to:
- improve quality targets and accuracy
- drive system improvements to positively enhance both safety and effectiveness
- reduce exposure to risk
- use their skills to enable value-adding continuous improvement
- identify under performing processes
- improve product safety and business value gained from audits
Key areas of focus
- Introduction to Safety Management System’s and organisational roles and responsibilities
- Risks, defences and requirements - the link to the Management System
- ‘Traditional’ and ‘System’ auditing philosophies
- The philosophies of ISO 19011
- Layered audit planning and preparation
- Opening, closing and controlling meetings; effective questioning skills and techniques
- Dealing with difficult people
- Gathering evidence, product sampling techniques and limitations
- Root cause identification
- Audit reporting, tracking and closure
UK military personnel will be awarded the practical skills for auditors joint personnel administration (JPA) training record following successful completion of the course.

Units and duty holder organisations can directly purchase this and other safety management systems training courses. MOD users can visit the safety training for error prevention (STEP) defnet page for further information.

Applicability

This course is ideally suited to those who have limited audit experience (less than two years) in the following roles:
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- Compliance Monitoring Managers
- Newly-appointed Quality Managers
- Newly-appointed Compliance Monitoring Managers
Contracted staff and overseas students who wish to attend this course will need to apply through their STEP point of contact.

Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites for this course, although basic knowledge of your regulatory framework is helpful.

Duration

4 days

Location and contact

This course will be delivered locally to the requirement and will be organised and administrated by your relevant STEP point of contact please contact them for more details on how to request and book this course.