Training matrix template
A training matrix shows which mandatory training each person has completed and when it's due again: one row per person, one column per required course, and the completion date in each cell. This free Excel template counts each person's missing, overdue and soon-due courses and gives them a red, amber or green status, so renewals don't lapse unnoticed.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
It's built for compliance training such as inductions, fire safety, manual handling, data protection and first aid, where you need to show who has done what, and when.
What's in the template
The workbook has a read-me, a blank matrix for 40 people and an example. Each course heading shows its renewal period, and four columns are calculated: Missing, Overdue, Due in 60 days (so renewals get booked in time) and a red, amber or green Status. The example rows, leaving out job title, start date and notes:
| Name | Induction (once) | Fire safety (yearly) | Manual handling (3 years) | Data protection (yearly) | First aid at work (3 years) | Missing | Overdue | Due in 60 days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Adeyemi | 04 Mar 2019 | 10 Feb 2026 | 22 Apr 2024 | 20 Jan 2026 | 15 May 2024 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated |
| Tomasz Nowak | 11 Sep 2017 | 02 Jun 2025 | 15 Jan 2024 | 20 Jan 2026 | 27 Nov 2023 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated |
| Kerry Walsh | 25 Apr 2022 | 18 Nov 2025 | 07 Aug 2023 | 20 Jan 2026 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated | |
| Imran Hussain | 4 | calculated | calculated | calculated | |||||
| Hannah Price | 11 Jan 2021 | 25 Nov 2025 | 03 Feb 2025 | 20 Jan 2026 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated | |
| Leon Carter | 01 Jun 2020 | 10 Feb 2026 | 03 Mar 2025 | 20 Jan 2026 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated | |
| Sofia Rossi | 19 Feb 2024 | 01 Dec 2025 | 11 Mar 2024 | 30 Sep 2025 | 0 | calculated | calculated | calculated |
Overdue, due and status use today's date, so they're worked out when you open the file. First aid at work is for appointed first-aiders only, so a blank in that column doesn't count as missing.
How to set up the matrix
- List the training that's genuinely required, role by role: what the law, insurers, customer contracts and your own risk assessments call for. Development training belongs in the training plan.
- Rename the course columns to match your list, and set each renewal period in the heading and its formula, as the read-me explains.
- Fill in a row per person from certificates and attendance records, not from memory. Type n/a where a course doesn't apply, so a blank always means not done.
- Filter by Status to see who needs booking, and add those courses to the training plan.
- Update it on the day training happens and check it monthly. Add new starters on their first day, so their induction shows as missing until it's done.
Training matrix vs skills matrix
| Training matrix | Skills matrix | |
|---|---|---|
| Records | Courses completed, with dates | How well each person does each task, rated 0 to 4 |
| Answers | Is everyone's required training in date? | Who can cover this job if someone's away? |
| Driven by | Law, insurers, contracts and risk assessments | The work the team actually does |
| Used for | Audits, inspections and booking renewals | Cover, cross-training and development |
Most teams need both. A first aid certificate belongs in the training matrix; whether someone can run payroll on their own belongs in the skills matrix.
What the law says
UK: employers must give workers clear instructions and information, and adequate training and supervision, with particular attention to new recruits, people changing jobs, young employees and health and safety representatives. Health and safety training must be free for employees, and keeping training records helps you decide when refreshers are needed (HSE). First aid at work certificates last three years; once one expires, HSE no longer considers that person competent to act as a workplace first-aider.
US: OSHA requires employers to train workers who face hazards on the job, as its standards set out. Its 10-hour and 30-hour outreach training cards aren't required by OSHA, though some employers and localities ask for them.
Example: a fictional 48-person kitchen-fitting company
The Example sheet lists seven staff from the office, workshop and fitting teams. In October 2026, when it was written, it flagged four:
- Imran started on 5 October, so all four required courses were still missing.
- Tomasz last did fire safety on 2 June 2025, so his yearly refresher fell due in June 2026.
- Kerry's manual handling, from August 2023, passed three years in August 2026.
- Sofia's data protection refresher fell due at the end of September 2026.
Hannah showed as Due soon. The most urgent line was Tomasz's first aid certificate, issued on 27 November 2023: it runs out at the end of November 2026 and he's the workshop's only first-aider, so his requalification course needed booking at once.
Common mistakes
- Blanks that mean two things. "Not needed" and "not done" look the same unless you use n/a.
- Booking dates entered as completion dates, so courses look done before anyone attends.
- Every course ever taken. Keep the matrix to required training, or the gaps get lost.
- No evidence behind it. Keep certificates and attendance records on file.
- Ignoring role changes. A new supervisor or first-aider needs new training from their first day in the role.
Frequently asked questions
What training is mandatory for employees?
It depends on the work, so there's no single list. In the UK, employers must provide the health and safety training workers need to work safely, and your risk assessments show what that means in practice. In the US, OSHA's standards set out the training required for particular hazards.
How do I flag expired training in Excel?
Compare each completion date with today's date minus the renewal period. The template's Overdue column does this for each course, and the Status column turns red when anything is missing or overdue.