Risk Assessment Training Course

What's Included

Your course fee includes everything needed for a comprehensive 1-day programme:

• Comprehensive Course Materials - printed handouts (on-site) or digital materials (remote) covering the full curriculum

• CPD-Accredited Certificate - Phoenix STS Risk Assessment Training Certificate valid for 3 years

• Digital Certificate - issued via email within 48 - 72 hours of course completion

• Practical Workshop - hands-on risk assessment exercises using realistic workplace scenarios

• Risk Assessment Templates - practical templates and checklists you can use immediately in your workplace

• Legislation Reference Pack - key sections of the 2005 Act including Section 19 and the General Principles of Prevention

• Post-Course Email Support - direct access to your instructor for guidance after the course

• Renewal Reminder Service - complimentary notification before your 3-year certificate expires

What You'll Learn

The course covers five core areas, combining legal knowledge with practical application.

Irish Compliance Context for Risk Assessment

Your obligations under Section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which requires every employer to identify hazards, assess risks, and prepare a written risk assessment. In practice, your risk assessment must be written down and kept up to date. You will also cover the General Principles of Prevention (Schedule 3) and how they guide your choice of controls.

The HSA Three-Step Process

The Health and Safety Authority's endorsed approach: Step 1 - Identify the hazards. Step 2 - Assess the risks (likelihood × severity). Step 3 - Implement control measures using the hierarchy of controls.

Hazard Identification Techniques

Practical ways to spot workplace hazards. These include physical inspection, task analysis, accident and incident review, and talking to employees. You will also look at common hazards in different industry sectors.

Risk Evaluation and Control

How to use risk rating matrices to rank risks. You will work through the hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. You will learn to pick controls that fit the risk.

Recording, Communication, and Review

How to write up risk assessments that meet Irish safety duties. How to feed findings into the safety statement (Section 20). How to share results with management and staff, and when to review and update.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion, you will be able to:

• Conduct a systematic risk assessment using the HSA three-step process
• Identify workplace hazards across all industry sectors
• Evaluate risks using likelihood and severity matrices
• Select and implement appropriate control measures using the hierarchy of controls
• Understand your legal obligations under Section 19 of the 2005 Act
• Apply the General Principles of Prevention to control measure selection
• Document risk assessments to meet legal and organisational requirements
• Communicate risk assessment findings effectively to stakeholders

Course Programme

The 7-hour programme balances legislation, theory, and practical exercises.

Morning Session: Legislation and Theory

• Welcome and course introduction
• Introduction to risk assessment: purpose and benefits
• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 - Section 19
• General Principles of Prevention (Schedule 3)
• The HSA three-step risk assessment process
• Step 1: Hazard identification techniques and methods
• Common workplace hazards across different sectors
• Step 2: Risk evaluation - likelihood, severity, and risk matrices

Afternoon Session: Practical Application and Assessment

• Step 3: Control measures and the hierarchy of controls
• Safety statements - integrating risk assessments (Section 20)
• Recording, reviewing, and updating risk assessments
• Communicating findings to management and staff
• Practical workshop: conducting a full risk assessment on realistic scenarios
• Group discussion: applying risk assessment to your workplace
• Assessment and course summary
• Certification information and next steps

Irish Compliance Context

Risk assessment is a legal duty under Irish health and safety law. This course covers the duties that matter most:

Section 19 - Risk Assessment

Section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires every employer to identify hazards, assess the risks, and prepare a written risk assessment. In plain terms: if you employ people, you must assess your workplace risks and keep a written record. An HSA inspector can ask to see it.

Section 20 - Safety Statement

Section 20 requires a written safety statement based on your Section 19 risk assessment. The statement must set out the hazards you found, the risks you assessed, and the protections you put in place. In plain terms: the safety statement is your written plan for keeping people safe at work.

General Principles of Prevention

Schedule 3 of the 2005 Act lists the General Principles of Prevention. These principles set the order in which you choose controls:

• Avoid the risk altogether where you can
• Assess any risk you cannot avoid
• Combat the risk at its source
• Adapt the work to the individual person
• Keep pace with technical progress

In plain terms: remove the danger first, and treat personal protective equipment as the last line of defence.

General Application Regulations 2007

The General Application Regulations 2007 set out specific risk assessment requirements for areas such as manual handling, display screen equipment, work at height, and workplace design. If your workplace involves these activities, each one needs its own assessment.

Assessment and Certification

Assessment includes participation in practical exercises and completion of a risk assessment workshop. Each participant must demonstrate understanding of the three-step process.

• Phoenix STS Risk Assessment Training Certificate - issued upon successful completion, valid for 3 years

• Digital Certificate - issued via email within 48 - 72 hours of completion

• CPD Certificate - confirming 7 CPD hours (CPD Standards Office, Provider No. 22657)

• Renewal Reminder - complimentary notification before your certificate expires

Our Instructors

All Phoenix STS instructors hold at least a QQI Level 8 qualification in their subject. Each also holds a Train the Trainer qualification at QQI Level 6 or higher. They bring practical health and safety experience from many industries.

Our instructors hold memberships with recognised professional bodies:

• IOSH - Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
• IIESMS - Institute of Industrial Engineers and Safety Management Systems
• IIRSM - International Institute of Risk and Safety Management
• L&DI - Learning and Development Institute of Ireland

Available Nationwide Across Ireland

Phoenix STS delivers the Risk Assessment Training Course on-site at your premises anywhere in Ireland, or via live remote sessions through Microsoft Teams.

We have delivered this course in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Athlone, Sligo, Dundalk, Longford, and right across Ireland. On-site training costs the same flat rate wherever you are.

Contact us for a training quotation or call 043 334 9611.

Risk Assessment Training That Leads to Useful Records

The aim is better judgement

Risk assessment training should help people think clearly. What are the hazards? Who could be harmed? What controls exist, what more is needed, and is the remaining risk acceptable? It should not become a box-ticking exercise or a pile of forms no one uses.

Competence depends on scope

A short course supports staff who carry out routine workplace assessments. Complex machinery, chemicals, fire safety, healthcare evacuation, work at height or specialist processes may need extra competent advice. Good training helps people recognise when they are outside their expertise.

Controls must be practical

A good risk assessment separates meaningful controls from vague statements. "Take care" is not a strong control. Better records state what must happen, who owns it, when it will be done, and how it will be checked.

Review after change

Review your assessments whenever work changes. Do the same after incidents or near misses, when new equipment arrives, when staff raise concerns, or when controls stop working as expected.