Asbestos Awareness & Management Training Courses

Asbestos is the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain, killing around 5,000 people a year from exposures that happened decades ago. It was banned in 1999, but any building put up or refurbished before 2000 may still contain it. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require training for anyone whose work could foreseeably disturb asbestos-containing materials – from a half-day awareness course for tradespeople through to professional surveying and management qualifications for duty holders.

Legal basisCAR 2012Regulation 10 covers training; Regulation 4 the duty to manage

RefresherAnnual in practiceNo fixed legal expiry for awareness, but clients and accreditation schemes usually ask for 12 months

Awareness durationHalf a dayNon-licensed work is a full day; BOHS P405 around five

AccreditationUKATA or IATPBoth recognised; BOHS for professional qualifications

Which asbestos course do you need?

It comes down to what your work does to the material, not what trade you are in. Getting this wrong is the most common booking mistake – awareness training does not permit anyone to work on asbestos.

You might come across it

Electricians, plumbers, joiners, roofers, heating engineers, maintenance and facilities staff
You need Asbestos Awareness, known as Category A
Teaches you to recognise it, stop work and report – not to deal with it
Half a day, in the classroom or as e-learning

You will knowingly disturb it

Removing asbestos cement, floor tiles, textured coatings or gaskets
You need Non-Licensed Asbestos Works, known as Category B
Most providers require an in-date awareness certificate first, usually within six months
Higher-risk materials such as lagging and sprayed coatings are licensable work for HSE-licensed contractors

What asbestos awareness training covers

The syllabus is set by the accrediting body, so the content is consistent whichever approved provider you book. What differs is the venue, the format and the price, which is what this page lets you compare.

The properties of asbestos and its effects on health
The types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos in buildings and plant
Asbestos-related diseases and the added risk for smokers
Legal duties under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
How to recognise possible asbestos-containing materials on site
What to do if asbestos is discovered or accidentally disturbed
Emergency procedures and reporting
Avoiding the risk of exposure to yourself and others

Duty to manage – Regulation 4

If you manage non-domestic premises the duty is yours whether or not you ever pick up a tool. Regulation 4 requires you to find out whether asbestos is present, record it in an asbestos register, assess its condition, prepare a written management plan, review it, and tell anyone who might disturb it – including contractors before they start work. That duty falls on landlords, facilities managers, school business managers and building owners. The Duty to Manage Asbestos course covers the appointed person role, and our free duty to manage tool walks through what a compliant plan needs.

Professional qualifications

Beyond compliance training sit the BOHS proficiency qualifications, which are career credentials rather than site tickets. BOHS P402 is the recognised standard for anyone carrying out asbestos surveys, covering management, refurbishment and demolition surveys, sampling strategy and reporting. BOHS P405 runs around five days and suits duty holders and anyone procuring survey, removal or analytical services who needs to judge the quality of what they are buying. Both are assessed by examination. See also Asbestos Risk Assessment and Asbestos Removal.

Keeping your training current

There is no legal expiry date on an awareness certificate and no legal requirement to repeat a formal course every 12 months. What the ACoP says is that some form of refresher should be given as necessary. In practice an annual refresher is the industry norm, and most principal contractors and accreditation schemes will ask for a certificate dated within the last year before granting site access. Workers doing non-licensed asbestos work are expected to refresh annually. Refresh through Asbestos Awareness or the Non-Licensed Asbestos Works Refresher, and check your expiry date before a client does.

How you can take it

Classroom

Half a day for awareness, a full day for non-licensed work, at centres across the UK. Required where the course involves practical elements such as RPE and decontamination.

E-learning

Self-paced awareness training, usually finished in a couple of hours and the cheapest route for a large workforce. Accepted for awareness, but not for non-licensed work.

On site for groups

Delivered at your own premises where you have enough delegates, which removes travel and lets the trainer reference your own building and materials.

Common questions

Is asbestos awareness training a legal requirement?

Yes, where your work could foreseeably disturb asbestos. Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires employers to provide information, instruction and training to anyone liable to be exposed – which covers most maintenance, refurbishment and building trades working on pre-2000 premises. It is the employer's duty to provide it, not the worker's to arrange it.

What is the difference between Category A and Category B?

Category A is asbestos awareness – for people who might come across asbestos but will not work on it. Category B is non-licensed work – for people who will knowingly disturb or remove lower-risk asbestos materials. Category B is not a replacement for awareness training; most providers require an in-date awareness certificate before you can attend, usually gained within the last six months.

UKATA or IATP – does it matter which?

Both are recognised asbestos training accreditation schemes and principal contractors rarely specify one over the other. Book on venue, format, date and price rather than the badge. If a particular client contract does name one, that contract wins – check before you book. Browse UKATA courses or IATP courses.

How long does an asbestos awareness certificate last?

There is no legal expiry date, and no legal requirement to repeat a formal refresher course every 12 months – the Approved Code of Practice asks for refresher training as necessary rather than on a fixed cycle. In practice, though, an annual refresher is what the industry works to, and most site inductions and accreditation schemes want a certificate dated within the last 12 months. Treat it as a one-year certificate unless a client tells you otherwise.

Can I do asbestos awareness online?

Yes. Awareness training is accepted as e-learning or as a live online session, and for a large or dispersed workforce e-learning is usually the cheapest route. Non-licensed work is different – it includes practical content on RPE, enclosures and decontamination, so it is delivered in the classroom or on site.

I need asbestos awareness for a CCDO demolition card – does e-learning count?

No. This is the main exception to the answer above. For CCDO demolition cards the NDTG only accepts an awareness certificate from NDTG, UKATA, ARCA or ACAD that was gained in the classroom, so an IATP or e-learning certificate will not get you onto the course. Book a classroom UKATA Asbestos Awareness session, then see Demolition Training for the card courses and the NVQs that convert them.

Does this training let me remove asbestos?

Awareness training does not. Non-licensed work training covers lower-risk materials such as asbestos cement, floor tiles and textured coatings. Higher-risk work – sprayed coatings, lagging and most work on asbestos insulating board – is licensable and can only be carried out by an HSE-licensed contractor, whatever training you hold.

What about silica dust?

Respirable crystalline silica from cutting stone, concrete, brick and engineered worktops is another major cause of occupational lung disease in construction, and the controls overlap almost entirely – the same RPE, face fit testing, on-tool extraction and damping down. If you are booking awareness training for a cutting or demolition crew, Silica Dust Awareness is worth adding at the same time.

Compare asbestos course dates and venues below

Envico lists scheduled asbestos training from accredited providers across the UK, so you can compare venues, formats and prices in one place rather than ringing round. Training a whole site team? Our free group travel cost calculator works out which venue is cheapest for everyone to reach, and whether an on-site course beats sending people out.