What this is
What is a training needs analysis?
What is a training needs analysis?
A training needs analysis compares required competence against what a role or population currently has, drawing on the matrix, incident investigations, audit findings, new equipment or process, and regulatory change. It produces a prioritised, dated, owned plan rather than a list of courses that sound useful.
How is a training needs analysis different from a competency matrix?
The matrix shows which competencies each role requires and who currently holds them. The needs analysis runs on top of it, asking what is missing, how urgent it is, and what will close it. One is a snapshot; the other is a plan.
Who should carry out a training needs analysis?
The training coordinator, working with supervisors who know how roles are actually staffed and what has gone wrong. An analysis compiled from the matrix alone will find the gaps the paperwork already knows and miss the ones the shift floor knows.
Scope
When is a training needs analysis required?
Training needs analysis is the planning instrument for Worker Competency and Credentials, and its most common misuse is being run as a document review rather than an evidence review, or asked to do the job of the matrix it should draw from.
Use this template when
- A role, task, area or population is new, or has changed materially enough that its competence requirements need re-examining
- The matrix, an incident investigation, an audit or a regulatory change has surfaced a gap needing a plan rather than an ad hoc course booking
- The annual or triggered review of training needs for a site or population is due
- A budget cycle requires a costed, prioritised plan rather than a running list of requests
- A capital project or new equipment is being planned and its training requirement needs scoping in advance
Do not use it for
- Competency Matrix, the current-state register this analysis reads from, not a substitute for it
- Skills Assessment, which measures whether a specific worker can already perform a task to standard
- Competency Gap Report, the periodic review that surfaces gaps for this analysis to plan against, not the plan itself
- Training Effectiveness Review, which evaluates whether training already delivered actually worked
- A single urgent gap for one named worker, better handled through a skills assessment or reassessment than a full needs analysis cycle
Compliance mapping
Which ISO 45001 cl.7.2 requirements does this satisfy?
ISO 45001 clause 7.2 is the anchor, and is unusually explicit for a competence clause: it requires not just identifying what competence is needed, but acting to acquire it and evaluating whether that action worked, so a needs analysis is judged on its plan and follow-through, not its list of gaps.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(a) | Determine necessary competence of workers affecting OH&S performance | Sources of need |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(b) | Ensure workers are competent on the basis of education, training or experience | Needs identified |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(c) | Take actions to acquire necessary competence, and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken | Plan |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.2(d) | Retain documented information as evidence of competence | Header |
| ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2.1 | Hazard identification proactive and ongoing, informed by past incidents | Sources of need |
| ISO 45001 cl.5.4 | Consultation and participation of non-managerial workers in matters affecting their competence | Needs identified |
| ISO 45001 cl.10.2 | Nonconformity and corrective action, where a competence gap contributed to an incident | Plan |
What it does not cover
- Competency Matrix, the current-state record of who holds what, and the primary source this analysis should draw gaps from rather than duplicate.
- Skills Assessment, which confirms whether a worker can perform a task to standard by observing them, rather than planning at role level.
- Competency Gap Report, the periodic, evidence-based review that surfaces gaps this analysis should plan against.
- Training Effectiveness Review, which evaluates whether training delivered under a previous plan closed the gap it targeted.
- The training itself, and the attendance or assessment record it produces, which belong in delivery records, not here.
Global
Training Needs Analysis requirements by country
No jurisdiction mandates a document called a training needs analysis. Close to universal is a duty to ensure workers are competent, which this analysis satisfies in a planned rather than reactive way.
ISO 45001:2018 clause 7.2
Management system requirement to determine necessary competence, act to acquire it, and evaluate the effectiveness of that action.
Auditors look for the loop closed: a gap identified, planned, actioned and its effectiveness checked, not just listed.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c)
General duty to provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary, so far as reasonably practicable.
No prescribed method, but an employer unable to show how training needs were identified has a weak answer to an HSE inspector's question after a competence-related incident.
OSH Act; training requirements embedded in specific standards
No general training-needs-analysis standard. Individual standards, powered industrial trucks among them, prescribe training content and retraining triggers.
A gap against a standard-specific training requirement is enforceable on its own terms regardless of any general needs analysis process.
How to complete it
How to complete a training needs analysis, step by step
The template accepts a list of courses and calls it complete. What determines whether the plan is worth funding is judgement the form does not force.
The form gives six sources: the matrix, incidents, audits, new equipment or process, regulatory change, and worker requests. An analysis built mostly from requests has not checked its own incident and audit data before signing off.
A legal gap and a nice-to-have fit the same table fields, but they are not the same finding. Ranking by what is cheapest or quickest to deliver, rather than what is outstanding against a legal duty, produces a plan that looks busy and leaves the real exposure unaddressed.
Existing course available, marked partly, is doing real work in this form. A need where a course exists but only partly covers the requirement needs a decision, extend it, source externally, or design new, rather than being marked done because something similarly named already runs.
Clause 7.2(c) does not stop at acquiring competence; it requires evaluating whether the action worked. A plan handed off and never checked for whether training closed the gap has satisfied the letter of a plan and missed the substance of the clause.
What auditors find
Most common training needs analysis findings
The form prompts for owner, date and budget by design, so most findings are not about missing fields. They are about whether those fields were filled with evidence or with hope.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Needs identified have no target date, no action owner, or both. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(c) | Require target date and action owner before a need is considered raised, not before it is closed. |
| Needs sourced almost entirely from worker requests, with matrix, incident and audit sources left unmarked. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(a) | Cross-check the matrix, incident log and audits before sign-off, and record what each contributed. |
| Legal requirement gaps recorded but not prioritised ahead of preference-driven needs. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(a) | Rank legal gaps first regardless of cost or ease of delivery, and record the reasoning if one is deferred. |
| Existing course marked available where it only partly covers the identified need. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(b) | Require a decision, extend, source externally or design new, wherever this is marked partly. |
| Plan proceeds to delivery with budget not approved, or the field left blank. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(c) | Gate delivery on an explicit budget approval status, not on the plan simply being signed. |
| No mechanism exists to check whether training delivered against the plan closed the gap it was raised for. | ISO 45001 cl.7.2(c) | Link each need to the effectiveness review that follows delivery, not to approval as the endpoint. |
Case in point
Case in point: the plan that funded what was easy
A packaging site's annual needs analysis identified nine gaps: five from worker requests for a forklift refresher and a leadership course, two from the matrix showing expired confined space authorisations, and two from an incident investigation into a near miss on a guarded machine. The plan funded the refresher and leadership course first, since both had a provider lined up and a cost the coordinator could quote immediately.
The confined space authorisations lapsed before the plan reached them, and a worker entered a confined space nine weeks later on an authorisation expired nineteen days earlier. Nothing had flagged the matrix-sourced gaps as legally required, because the plan was ordered by what was cheapest, not by legal exposure. The fix was not a better matrix, it had flagged the expiry correctly, it was requiring legal gaps to be actioned first regardless of what else was ready to book.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
4 sections
- Reference
- TRN-022
- Archetype
- Assessment
- Record ID
- TNA-2026-000
- Scoring
- Gap percent
- Direction
- High is bad
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- ISO 45001 cl.7.2
- Links
- Links Job, Worker, Course
- Tags
- Competency, Planning
- Sections
- 4
- Fields
- 44
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 3
Header
10 fieldsAnalysis ID*
Auto sequence. Format TNA-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Delivered By*
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Scope*
Period Covered*
Carried Out By*
Gap, Not Wish List
A training needs analysis produces a plan with owners and dates. A list of courses people might enjoy is not a needs analysis.
Sources of need
8 fieldsFrom Competency Matrix Gaps*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Incident Investigations*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Audit Findings*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From New Equipment Or Process*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Regulatory Change*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Worker Requests*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Observation Trends*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
From Performance Data*
- Yes3 pts
- No1 pt
Needs identified
Repeats12 fieldsCompetency Or Topic*
Roles Affected*
People Affected*
Need Source*
Priority*
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
Legal Requirement*
Existing Course Available*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Course ID
Links to FDN-007 Course ID
New Course Needed
Delivery Method Proposed
Estimated Cost
Target Date*
Plan
14 fieldsNeeds Identified*
Needs With A Dated Plan*
Legal Gaps Outstanding*
Budget Required
Budget Approved*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Plan Approved By*
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Training Coordinator*
Signature*
Site Manager*
Second Signature*
TRN-022 · record IDs look like TNA-2026-000 · Links Job, Worker, Course
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The plan is the easy part. What determines whether a needs analysis changes anything is whether its gaps get funded, actioned and checked, rather than re-listed at the next cycle.
Holds the needs analysis against the matrix and course library, flags needs left without an owner or date, and surfaces legal gaps ahead of preference-driven ones.
Watches incident investigations, audits and regulatory change for events that should feed a new needs analysis, and checks whether a prior plan's needs were actually closed.
Connects competence gaps from incident investigation into the needs analysis, so a near miss produces a training plan rather than a closed investigation with no follow-through.
Feeds audit findings that identify a competence gap into the analysis as a sourced, evidenced need, not a standalone corrective action nobody links back to training.
This template lives in KnowTrain — training and credentials. Induction, competency, toolbox talks, refreshers and expiry tracking.
Meet KnowTrain→Glossary
Training Needs Analysis definitions and key terms
- Training needs analysis
- A planning exercise comparing required competence against what a role or population currently has, producing a dated, owned, budgeted plan rather than a course list.
- Competence
- The ability to apply knowledge and skill to achieve intended results, per ISO 45001, evidenced through education, training or experience.
- Need source
- The origin of a training gap: matrix, incident investigation, audit finding, new equipment or process, regulatory change, or worker request.
- Legal requirement gap
- A training gap tied to a statutory duty, prioritised ahead of gaps that are useful but not legally required.
- Effectiveness evaluation
- The clause 7.2(c) requirement to check, after delivery, whether training actually produced the competence it targeted.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about training needs analysis
What is the difference between a training needs analysis and a competency gap report?+
The gap report is an evidence-based snapshot of where coverage is missing, expiring or uncovered. The needs analysis takes those gaps, plus others from incidents and audits, and turns them into a dated, owned, budgeted plan. One measures the current state; the other plans the response.
How often should a training needs analysis be run?+
At least yearly, and whenever a role, task or population changes materially: new equipment, a new process, a regulatory change, or restructured staffing. An annual cycle alone will miss a gap created in month four and not examined until month twelve.
Should worker requests be included in a needs analysis?+
Yes, but not relied on. Workers often know a workaround exists before it reaches an incident log, but an analysis built mostly from requests has not checked its matrix, incident and audit data, and will under-represent legally required gaps nobody thought to ask for.
What does existing course available marked partly actually mean?+
A course exists that covers some but not all of the need, and a decision is required rather than a tick: extend the existing course, source the missing content externally, or commission a new one. Record which was chosen and why.
Who approves the budget for a training needs analysis?+
The site manager, alongside the coordinator who compiled the plan. Budget approved as partly, rather than a clean yes, flags that the plan cannot be fully funded and a prioritisation decision must be made explicitly rather than by default.
What happens to a need that turns out not to require training at all?+
It should still be recorded, with the reasoning, rather than deleted. A need found to be a process or supervision issue rather than a competence gap is a useful finding in its own right, and silently dropping it loses the evidence the analysis examined it.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Worker Competency and Credentials
Competency Framework Register
Holds the competencies the organisation recognises, with what each one means and how it is assessed
Driver Licence and Entitlement Check
Checks driver licence validity, categories, endorsements and any restrictions with the issuing authority
Electrical Competency Authorisation
Authorises a named person to carry out defined electrical activities on this site, with the limits stated
Competency Matrix
Shows which skills and training each role requires and who currently holds them
Skills Assessment
Assesses whether a worker can actually perform a task to standard, by watching them do it
Trainer Qualification Record
Confirms that a person is qualified to train and assess others in a given task
More in Competency
Competency Matrix
Shows which skills and training each role requires and who currently holds them
Skills Assessment
Assesses whether a worker can actually perform a task to standard, by watching them do it
Trainer Qualification Record
Confirms that a person is qualified to train and assess others in a given task
Authorization to Operate
Formally authorises a worker to operate a specific piece of equipment
Competency Reassessment
Rechecks a worker's competency after a set period, an absence or an incident
Cross Training Record
Records training a worker to cover a role other than their own
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- ISO 45001:2018 clause 7.2, Competence
- ISO 45001:2018 clause 6.1.2.1, Hazard identification
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2(2)(c) (UK)
- OSH Act, standard-specific training requirements (US)
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.