How Often Should a Training Matrix Be Reviewed?

There is no universal legal timetable for “how often to open the spreadsheet.” The right cadence is the one that stops silent expiries and missing rows before they affect work. Requirements vary by role, activity, customer and site — your review should follow the work, not a generic calendar slogan.

1. Rolling expiry sweep (weekly or fortnightly)

Sort or filter anything due in the next 30–60 days for people on active work. Confirm renewals are booked or the person is off the rota. Chase missing evidence separately from soon-to-expire dates. If nobody opens the file for a month, conditional formatting in Excel will not save you.

2. Pre-allocation / pre-site review

Before naming a crew for a job, check that workers meet assigned requirements for that role and customer — including anything that expires before demobilisation. This is often where construction and M&E teams catch lapses that a quiet office week would miss.

3. Event-driven updates (same day)

• New starter or named subcontractor added
• Leaver archived so they leave the due list
• Renewal certificate or card received — update the date immediately
• Role or site requirement change — reassign columns, do not leave stale N/As

Who should own the review

Name one owner for the living matrix (or one system of record), even if supervisors flag gaps. Shared “everyone updates it” ownership is how reviews slip. Software helps when reminders and status from today’s date reduce the need for a heroic weekly open-the-file ritual — but someone still has to act on the list.

Signs your cadence is too slow

• Expired dates discovered only at the gate or by a client
• Multiple “final” spreadsheet versions
• Leavers still appearing on due lists
• Blank cells treated as “probably fine”
• Evidence packs that take days to assemble

If the weekly sweep is already a scramble, upload the matrix so expiry status and reminders run continuously — then keep the same human ownership for acting on what is due.