Training Checklist Template and Examples: Free Word Download

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A training checklist sets out the tasks or topics to cover during training and records progress. For a new employee, it can also record who checked a task, what evidence they used and whether more practice is needed. Below, you can download a free Word template, a completed example and a separate checklist for organising a training session.

I'm the COO at Coursebox, where we make employee training software, and I manage most of our Perth team.

The example follows a new security officer learning internal patrol duties at an Australian shopping centre. It is an illustrative two-week plan for 2 to 13 November 2026, with made-up names, dates and results. Use it to see how to record a check and follow up when someone needs more practice.

The download includes a blank employee checklist, the completed security example with three other role examples, and a session checklist. All three are editable Word files; the completed example also comes as a PDF.

Training checklist template

Download the blank employee checklist, completed role examples and session preparation checklist in Word. The completed example also comes as a PDF. No email is required.

Blank checklist (Word)DOCX · 57 KBCompleted example (Word)DOCX · 58 KBCompleted example (PDF)PDF · 302 KBSession checklist (Word)DOCX · 56 KB

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What does a training checklist record?

A shared checklist gives trainers an agreed list to work through and a place to record what happened. If one supervisor starts the training and another finishes it, both can see what has been covered, what was checked and what still needs attention.

There are two common uses. An employee training checklist follows one person through the tasks they need for a role. A training session checklist follows the organiser through preparation, delivery and follow-up. This guide covers both, starting with the employee version.

How a training checklist fits with other training documents

The checklist belongs alongside the instructions and evidence used in training. Each document answers a different question:

Here's how they fit together for the security officer.

The procedure says how to write an incident report. The escalation card on the radio is the job aid. The checklist row says "Write an incident report the same shift, with the time, place, people involved and actions taken", with the date, both sets of initials and the evidence.

For a lost-child role-play, the supervisor could use an observation checklist to record whether the officer followed the site's procedure. The employee's training checklist would refer to that completed check. A team matrix could then show the recorded result alongside those of other officers.

What goes into a good checklist item

Writing tasks for a training checklist

A heading such as "radio use" tells a trainer what to cover, but leaves the check open to interpretation. "Sign on and off using the correct call signs without prompting" tells them what to look for. Write the task and the standard together so the trainer and learner know what they are working towards.

When an item says "understand" or "know", explain how you will check that knowledge. Someone could explain when to call for help, answer a scenario question or demonstrate a procedure. Choose the check that fits the task; a practical skill usually needs practical evidence.

Types of training checklists

• New starter: covers the tasks needed for a new role, grouped by when the person needs them. It records training, checks and outstanding practice before a manager reviews which duties the person can take on.
• On-the-job task: focuses on a particular machine, procedure or skill. Break it into the steps the learner needs to practise, then record the conditions and evidence used to check their work.
• Safety or compliance: links each item to the relevant rule or procedure. Include the required training and assessment details, and any review or refresher dates that apply.
• Role change: covers the differences between the person's current duties and their new ones. Check which existing skills transfer and where equipment, procedures or responsibilities have changed.
• Manager: covers work such as running a one-to-one meeting or approving leave. Use practice, feedback and follow-up to check the person can apply the relevant policy.
• Training session: covers preparation, delivery and follow-up for an event. Each action has an owner and a completion box, such as testing the equipment or sending the follow-up materials.

Open the types of training checklists image at full size.

How to make a training checklist

Start with the work the person needs to do, then decide how to teach and check it. The steps below use the security officer's illustrative checklist to show those decisions.

Step 1: Choose the tasks for the role

List what the person must be able to do in their first weeks without help. Ask the people already doing the job, and look at what goes wrong when someone new starts. A training needs analysis helps if you're not sure.

The security example contains ten items: patrol duties, emergency responses and a CPR training record. Those items show how the format works; they are not a complete security qualification or induction programme. Choose the tasks and prerequisites that apply to your own role.

Step 2: Write each item as a task and a standard

Start each item with an action, then add the conditions and required result. In the example, "Patrol levels 1 and 2 in 40 minutes, logging every checkpoint" combines a route, a time and a record to check. The 40-minute target is a sample input; your site's route, safety requirements and operating conditions should determine the actual standard.

If your tasks are described in a procedure, an approved AI assistant can help draft the rows. Review its suggestions against the current procedure and ask the person responsible for that work to check them before use.

I'm writing a training checklist for a new [ROLE]. Using only the current procedure below, draft the tasks the person needs to learn.

Start each row with an action and include the required standard where the procedure states one. Use a practical demonstration for performance skills and an explanation or scenario question where knowledge needs to be checked.

Do not invent tasks, timings, pass criteria, results, dates or sign-offs. List any missing standards or unclear steps separately for the procedure owner to resolve.

[PROCEDURE]

Step 3: Group the tasks by when they should be signed off

Group tasks around when the person will need them, such as day 1, week 1 and week 2. Arrange essential safety instruction before the relevant work or exposure. In this Australian example, day 1 includes radio use, locating fire exits and deciding when to call 000 or the control room.

Step 4: Decide who signs, and what counts as evidence

Decide who is qualified to check each task and what they need to see. Their entry should identify the check, its date and the evidence, such as a completed report or a supervised demonstration. A learner's initials acknowledge the training; they do not replace the checker's judgement. If you use initials, keep a key with each person's full name and role.

Some regulators set out what the record must hold. For example, the US forklift operator training rule asks for the operator's name, the date of training, the date of the evaluation and who did them. Other rules and countries differ, so check the ones that apply to you.

Step 5: Record the result and arrange follow-up

Use Done when the agreed check has been met. Use Not yet when training or a check is still outstanding, and write down what needs practice, who will help and when to check again. Use N/A only when the item does not apply to this person's duties, with a reason. Keep the first result when you add a later one.

Not yet, N/A and the evidence behind each sign-off

Example: Illustrative security officer checklist for internal patrol duties at an Australian shopping centre, 2 to 13 November 2026.

1. 11. Not yet: The first incident report had no times. It was re-checked four days later and passed.
2. 22. N/A: The officer works internal patrol, so the car park task doesn't apply. The reason is written down.
3. 33. Evidence: Each sign-off says what it rests on, so anyone can check it later.

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Step 6: Review the evidence and agree the work scope

Review the completed checks with the person responsible for authorising the work. Record the duties approved, any restrictions and the decision date, alongside any separate licence or qualification requirements. In the example, the manager approves the listed internal patrol duties on 13 November; car park duties remain outside the role. Done and N/A entries do not automatically authorise someone to work alone.

Step 7: Roll the checklists up into a team view

Once the checks have been reviewed, update the team's skills matrix with the appropriate status and dates. Keep links or references back to the individual evidence. That lets a manager see where support is needed without putting every training note into the team view.

Training checklist examples for other roles

The illustrative examples below reflect the kinds of training records people requested.

These three illustrative examples share the final page of the completed example file. Adapt the tasks, evidence and number of checks with the person responsible for training in that role.

Site safety induction

Consider a new operator learning to work around equipment at a processing plant. Isolation means separating equipment from its energy sources so work can be carried out safely. The examples below refer to site procedures; a qualified supervisor must set the required training and checks.

For physical safety tasks, practical checks can sit alongside questions about the procedure. A quiz may check whether someone can explain the rule; observation is needed to check how they carry out the work.

How Lloyds Metals built training from site procedures

At Lloyds Metals & Energy, Mark Jones turned site procedures, including isolation and permit-to-work procedures, into smaller courses delivered in sequence. Engineers reviewed the courses before delivery, and training included assessment, coaching and mentoring. The case shows the teaching and review that need to accompany a training record.

Read the Lloyds Metals & Energy case study.

Clinical competency sign-off

This example follows a registered nurse joining a ward. The clinical nurse educator would set the criteria and evidence under the ward's current policies. The counts below illustrate a record format; they are not a prescribed threshold for clinical competence.

The infusion pump is marked N/A because it is not used on this ward. If the nurse moves to a ward that uses it, the relevant training and assessment need to be arranged before they use that equipment.

Sales new hire, first month

For a new employee making outbound sales calls, the team lead can check product explanations, call records and handovers. Here, the customer relationship management system (CRM) is the system used to keep customer and call records.

A customer may decline a meeting even when the employee handles the call well. Review the parts the employee can demonstrate, such as asking relevant questions and agreeing a clear next step. Track meeting bookings separately as a sales outcome.

The other training checklist: before, during and after a session

For an organiser, the checklist follows the work needed to run a session. Assign an owner to each action and mark it when complete. The Word download uses four stages; adjust the lead times to suit your event:

1. Two weeks before: confirm the objectives and attendees, book the room and trainer, send the invitation, and arrange shift cover.
2. The day before: print the training materials and the sign-in sheet, test the equipment, chase pre-work, and send the trainer the latest facilitator's guide.
3. On the day: set up early, collect sign-ins, run the session from the training agenda, and collect feedback.
4. After: record attendance, add any completed checks to each person's training record, follow up outstanding practice and note what to change next time.

When a training checklist is not enough

• To judge the quality of a performance, use observation checklists with clear criteria.
• To see the whole team, roll the checklists up into a skills matrix.
• To assign and track the online parts of the training, use a learning management system (LMS) that records completions.

The downloads are version 1.1, dated 19 October 2026. They were checked in Microsoft Word on Windows and the example was exported to PDF. Google Docs, LibreOffice and Word for Mac have not been tested.

Building your first training checklist

Start with the tasks needed for the role and agree what a satisfactory check looks like. Name the person who will check each task, keep the evidence and arrange follow-up where practice is still needed. For the online parts of onboarding, you can build the course with Coursebox's AI employee training software.