# Staff Training Matrix Template: free UK download

Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/templates/training-matrix-template
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11 by the Paddl team

Free staff training matrix template for hospitality: every person against every course, with expiry dates and the gaps visible at a glance

## In one sentence

The Staff Training Matrix Template is a free PDF for UK food businesses with 3 record sheets: training matrix grid: staff by row, twelve typical hospitality courses by column, with a status code key (done, due, expired, not required), certificate expiry register: one line per certificate with provider, date, expiry and renewal action, training plan: the gaps from the matrix turned into bookings with an owner and a date. Download it, print it or fill it in, and keep it with your food safety records; Paddl keeps the same records on a phone with timestamps and reminders.

A training matrix is one page that answers the question every inspector, insurer and new manager asks: who is trained in what, and is it current. Down the side are the people; across the top are the courses the venue needs, from Level 2 food hygiene and allergen awareness through fire warden, first aid, COSHH and personal licence; in each cell is a code for done, due or expired. It turns a folder of certificates into a plan, because the empty cells and the expired ones are the training you need to book. This free template gives you the matrix pre-filled with the courses a hospitality venue typically needs, an expiry register for the certificates behind it and a plan sheet for booking the gaps.

## Why you need it

- Food hygiene law requires food handlers to be supervised, instructed or trained, and the matrix is how you show who has been
- EHO officers ask for training records at nearly every inspection and score confidence in management partly on them
- First aid, fire warden and SIA certificates expire; the matrix is where the expiry becomes visible before it lapses
- A new manager can see the whole team's training in one page rather than a drawer of certificates

## What is included

- Training matrix grid: staff by row, twelve typical hospitality courses by column, with a status code key (done, due, expired, not required)
- Certificate expiry register: one line per certificate with provider, date, expiry and renewal action
- Training plan: the gaps from the matrix turned into bookings with an owner and a date
- Guidance on which courses are mandatory, which are role-based and typical refresh intervals

## Record sheets

- **Training Matrix**: columns Staff Name, Role, Food Hygiene L2, Allergen Awareness, HACCP / SFBB, COSHH Briefing, Fire Warden, First Aid, Manual Handling, Challenge 25, Personal Licence, Induction
- **Certificate Expiry Register**: columns Staff Name, Course / Certificate, Provider, Date Achieved, Expiry / Refresh Due, Renewal Action, Booked?
- **Training Plan**: columns Gap (person and course), Provider, Format (online / classroom / in-house), Owner, Target Date, Completed

## How to use it

1. **List everyone and mark the courses their role needs** Not everyone needs everything. Mark the cells that do not apply to a role so the gaps that remain are real gaps.
2. **Fill the matrix from the certificates you hold** For each certificate, write the code and the expiry in the cell and add a line to the expiry register. Anything you cannot find a certificate for is a gap.
3. **Turn the gaps into a plan** Every empty or expired cell becomes a line on the training plan with a course, a provider, an owner and a date.
4. **Review monthly and at induction** Add new starters on day one. Review the expiry register monthly with a 60-day horizon so refreshers are booked before certificates lapse.

## Tips

- Pin the matrix in the office and update it in pen; a matrix nobody can see does not drive bookings
- Use the same status codes on the rota so a lapsed food hygiene certificate is visible when you roster the person
- Record in-house briefings (allergen matrix, COSHH products, Challenge 25) as training too; they count and they expire in practice
- Keep the certificates behind the matrix in one folder or one digital place, and write that location on the register
- Paddl tracks each person's training and certificates with expiry reminders and warns before rostering someone whose mandatory training has lapsed

Download the file from https://paddl-ai.co/templates/training-matrix-template (email required). The Paddl features that keep the same records: https://paddl-ai.co/features/training, https://paddl-ai.co/features/team, https://paddl-ai.co/features/compliance, https://paddl-ai.co/features/documents, https://paddl-ai.co/features/rota, https://paddl-ai.co/features/mobile-app.