Completion of an online compliance training course by staff typically results in the issue of a certificate of completion. This document needs to be understood by both employees and their managers as to what it confirms and what it does not confirm.
What a Certificate Confirms
The record of a learner completing an online compliance training course is often given as a certificate of completion. This record typically contains information such as the learner’s name, the name of the course, the date on which the course was completed and a confirmation of a pass score if the course had been set up to test the learner’s knowledge. However, the important thing to remember about a compliance e-learning course is that it is NOT a formally accredited qualification (unless specifically stated to be so).
Who Accepts These Certificates
Online compliance training is provided as elearning compliance courses, provided as online compliance training. As evidence of staff training, completion certificates are accepted by regulators, auditors and insurers as long as the online compliance training has relevant content. Elearning Compliance Training is best to have as documented evidence of staff training during an audit or inspection. This can show what online compliance training courses were completed by staff, when they were completed and by whom.
There is more on Elearning Compliance Training at //www.adempi.co.uk/compliance-training/elearning-courses.
How Long a Certificate Stays Valid
Although there is no fixed expiry date on most compliance training certificates, the relevant bodies such as a regulator, auditor or insurer expect update training every 1 to 3 years.
Storing Certificates Properly
The compliance training certificates should be kept in employees’ personnel files in either hard copy or digital format. A simple spreadsheet, such as that outlined below, detailing employees’ names, the titles of the courses they have completed, the dates on which they completed the courses and the dates on which the courses need to be updated, will be enough for an auditor to see that employees have been trained in compliance. The government’s guidance on recognised qualifications may also be helpful in distinguishing between qualifications that have been accredited by recognised bodies and simple completion certificates that have been issued after employees have completed compliance training courses.
If a Certificate Is Lost
If a certificate goes lost, the course provider should be able to reissue it. Most platforms store completion records for employees so a duplicate can be generated. Even if the provider has long since ceased to exist, a signed declaration from the employee as to when they completed the course, along with any confirmation emails that were previously saved, should be enough.
A little organisation around the certificates that are issued as a result of compliance elearning courses is all that is required to turn what appears to be a simple tick-box exercise into a valuable training record that can be referred to by both employees and managers alike.
