Do certificates have an expiry date? If so, why?

Yes.

After attending one of our face-to-face workshops or, on successful completion of one of our online training courses, learners get a personal certificate which is valid for 2 years. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, Regulations, Industry Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes are constantly being modified or updated. Secondly, the gas suppliers are constantly innovating and bringing new products and services to the market, which may be beneficial to your organisation. Thirdly, operators can become complacent and fall into bad habits. Refresher training ensures employees retain key health and safety information, and it reinforces safe working practices, helps address gaps in knowledge to prevent accidents, and keeps people updated and compliant.

How is this certificate expiry date specified? Is it a legal expiry date?

It is a recommended review point, not a legal expiry date.

In the UK, there is no legal timescale for when gas safety refresher training is required. The two-year figure is our professional recommendation, drawn from our direct involvement with the Technical Committees of the British Compressed Gases Association and our input in updating Gas Industry Codes of Practice, Guidance Notes and Technical Information Sheets. On that basis, it is our belief that gas users should undertake refresher training every two years.

Your risk assessments will have identified what control measures are required within your workplace. Training will most likely be one of your control measures. It is your responsibility to assess what training is required, the effectiveness of that training and how often it needs to be refreshed.


What if I have some new people and some to refresh?

That’s fine for our online courses, where we will refresh training delivered by another provider. For our in-person workshops, please contact us to discuss the training that your staff have previously received, and we’ll discuss the type of workshop and content that we’re able to deliver to meet your specific needs. Either way, please get in touch, and we’ll advise on the best options for your team.


How is refresher training different?

A refresher workshop is a distinct, slightly shorter course aimed at people who already hold underlying knowledge, rather than a repeat of the full initial workshop.

Its purpose is reinforcement and updating rather than first-time teaching: it ensures employees retain key information, and it reinforces safe working practices as well as helping embed correct safety procedures into operators’ daily routines. It addresses gaps in knowledge, and keeps staff up to date with changes to Regulations, Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes and with new gas equipment and cylinder packages. We provide a dedicated range of refresher workshops, which are distinct and separate from the initial courses.

Please reach out to one of our Gas Safety specialists on +44 (0)1270 758890 or email us on admin@gassafeconsultants.co.uk to discuss your requirements.