Asbestos awareness

What it is

Training that teaches people where asbestos is likely to be found and how to avoid disturbing it. It's required by regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, which says training must be repeated at regular intervals, and explained in HSE's code of practice, L143.

Awareness training doesn't prepare anyone to work with asbestos. Anyone who will knowingly disturb it needs non-licensable or licensable asbestos training too.

Who needs it

Anyone whose work could foreseeably disturb the fabric of a building and expose them to asbestos, and anyone who supervises or influences that work. HSE lists construction and demolition workers, maintenance staff, electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, roofers, telecoms engineers and surveyors among others. It doesn't apply where the employer can show a building contains no asbestos.

How long it lasts

This is where people get confused, because the rules come from two places:

• UKATA, the main accrediting body, says its awareness certificates are valid for one year, with a refresher of at least an hour and a half each year.
• HSE says there's no legal requirement to repeat a formal awareness course every 12 months. Training must be kept up at regular intervals, and a refresher can be e-learning or a toolbox talk.
• Clients and principal contractors may ask for a certificate from the last 12 months, so check what yours expect before letting it go longer.

Renewing

With a UKATA member, a refresher is open to anyone whose UKATA awareness training was in the last 12 months, and UKATA also allows a six-month grace period after that, subject to the employer's training needs check. After that, the full course again. HSE also notes there's no legal requirement to hold a certificate: it shows training was given, not that someone is competent.

Checking a certificate is genuine

UKATA certificates can be checked online with the person's full name, the training date and the certificate number. IATP has its own checker, but says a failed check doesn't always mean a fake, because not every trainer uses it yet. There's no single government register.