Requirements for training of employees
The employer must ensure that all employees receive the necessary training, practice and instruction to perform the work in a safe manner. The Working Environment Act has general requirements for training, as well as specific requirements for training for certain types of work tasks and the use of work equipment.
The purpose of training
The purpose of training is to reduce risk and strain at work, as well as to promote a health-promoting and meaningful working environment. The training shall contribute to the prevention of occupational accidents, injuries and illness, as well as promote productivity.
Differentiated instruction
Employees must be made familiar with relevant regulations, internal procedures and routines, safety rules and contingency plans, as well as training in the use of personal protective equipment. The training shall be adapted to the individual's needs, tasks and the nature of the work. The employer must assess the need for training specifically in each individual case, based on the employee's formal education, experience and personal abilities. The training must be provided in a language that the employees understand, and the employer must ensure that the employees have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills through the training. Particular attention must be paid to the fact that young workers lack work experience and are not always aware of existing and potential risks.
Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority on general training requirements (in Norwegian only)
Work tasks with special training requirements
When using machinery and equipment that can lead to accidents or injuries, the employer must ensure that the employee has documented knowledge of the correct use of the equipment. This means that the training must be documented in writing, and the employee must receive a certificate of competence after completing the training.
Some tasks and areas of work have special requirements for training. Here, the employer must provide training in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on the Performance of Work.
The following tasks have special training requirements:
- Work with chemicals
- Work with asbestos
- Hot work
- work with a risk of exposure to biological agents
- Work at sewage plants
- work with work equipment that requires special care
- maintenance of work equipment
- work with a risk of exposure to harmful noise or mechanical vibrations
- work with a risk of exposure to artificial optical radiation
- Work with a risk of exposure to electromagnetic fields
- assembly, dismantling, modification and inspection of scaffolding
- Safety signage and signalling
- ergonomically strenuous work
- work that may entail a risk of being exposed to violence and the threat of violence
- work with operational control and safety monitoring (control room)
- Working under water or increased ambient pressure
Regulations concerning the Performance of Work (in Norwegian only)
