“We really don’t need much safety training.”

It’s something we occasionally hear from employers. Truth be told, they may be right.

Not every employee needs every safety class and not every company needs the same training program. Putting employees through training that has nothing to do with the hazards they actually face isn’t a good use of anyone’s time or money.

But that raises a more important question: how do you determine what training your employees actually need?

Safety Training Is More Than OSHA 10 and OSHA 30

When companies think about safety training, OSHA 10- and 30-hour courses often come to mind. Those programs can be valuable, but they aren’t the beginning and end of an employer’s training responsibilities.

OSHA training requirements appear throughout its standards. For construction employers, 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) requires employers to instruct employees in recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions and in the regulations applicable to their work environment.

Other standards establish more specific requirements depending on the work being performed. Fall protection, scaffolds and steel erection are just a few examples.

Identifying the type of work you’re asking your people to perform is the first step in determining what kind of training they might need.

“Our Employees Already Know How to Do Their Jobs”

Experience matters, but experience and training aren’t necessarily interchangeable.

Someone may have worked in construction for 20 years and still never have received proper instruction on a particular requirement. An employee may know how to operate a piece of equipment without recognizing every hazard associated with it.

Sometimes familiarity creates a different problem. Risk can begin to feel normal.

“We’ve always done it this way.”

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years.”

“Nobody has ever been hurt.”

Those statements demonstrate experience. They don’t necessarily demonstrate an understanding of the hazard or the controls necessary to address it.

What Happens When the Workplace Changes?

Training shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a one-time event because workplaces don’t remain the same.

People change. Equipment changes. Projects change. Processes change. Employees take on new responsibilities. New hazards emerge.

OSHA’s Recommended Practices identify additional training as appropriate when changes in facilities, equipment, processes, materials or work organization could increase hazards, as well as when employees are assigned new tasks.

That creates another important question: How does your organization determine when someone needs additional training? Is there a process? Or do you wait until something happens?

Toolbox Talks Are Valuable – But Are They Enough?

Regular toolbox talks can be an excellent part of a safety program. Short discussions about current work and hazards can reinforce expectations and keep safety relevant to what’s happening in the field. However, a toolbox talk isn’t automatically a substitute for every training requirement.

Some subjects require more detailed instruction. Others may require specific content, hands-on application or an employee to demonstrate knowledge or proficiency.

A signature on an attendance sheet tells you someone was there. What you actually want to know is, “Did this person learn what they need to know to perform this work safely?”

Let the Work Determine the Training

Instead of deciding how many hours of safety training employees should receive each year, consider starting with what they actually do.

Ask these questions first:

• What work are employees performing?
• What equipment are they using?
• What hazards are they exposed to?
• Which OSHA standards apply?
• Who performs specialized work?
• What responsibilities do supervisors have?
• What has changed?
• What are your inspections, incidents and close calls telling you?

From here, you can build a training plan.

Regular training doesn’t mean repeating the same class every few months. Training should evolve with the organization and the hazards employees actually encounter.

The objective isn’t simply more training hours, it’s continued competency.

And don’t forget your supervisors! Crafts people aren’t the only ones who need a training plan. If a supervisor doesn’t recognize a hazard, they may walk past it every morning. If they don’t understand the company’s safety requirements, they can’t effectively reinforce them.

Maximizing Inspection Results

Imagine your inspections repeatedly identify improper ladder use. You could document the finding, correct the employee and move on, but if the same issue keeps appearing, shouldn’t you also ask why?

Maybe employees don’t understand the requirement. Maybe supervisors don’t understand it either. Maybe the company’s procedure is unclear. Or perhaps previous training wasn’t effective.

Now your inspection program can help drive your training program. That’s much more useful than scheduling a class simply because the calendar says it’s time.

The Bottom Line

Maybe your company doesn’t need a lot of additional safety training. But determine that based on the work, not an assumption. The goal isn’t to collect more certificates; it’s to make sure employees have the knowledge they need to recognize hazards and make the right decision when it matters.

So the next time someone says: “We don’t need much safety training,” don’t immediately disagree ask:  “How did we determine that?”

SEPTEMBER 2026