CQC Training for Care Workers: Mandatory Topics and Practical Skills

Care workers need training that prepares them to carry out their duties safely, understand the people they support and follow their employer’s procedures. Common topics include safeguarding adults, infection prevention, health and safety, fire safety, consent and confidentiality. Additional training depends on responsibilities such as moving people, supporting medicines or preparing food.

There is no single CQC course list that suits every care worker. Employers must identify relevant learning, provide appropriate support and check that workers can apply their skills safely. This guide explains how to approach training for care workers in CQC-regulated services in England.

What does CQC expect from care-worker training?

The Care Quality Commission regulates health and adult social care services in England. Under Regulation 18, providers must ensure staff receive the training, support, supervision and professional development necessary for their duties.

For a care worker, this means having an induction relevant to the job, knowing which learning to complete and receiving supervision while developing the competence needed to work independently.

Employers should assess individual training needs when someone starts and review them as their role develops. Previous experience can help identify existing skills, but workers still need preparation for their new service’s procedures.

Read CQC’s Regulation 18 guidance for the regulatory requirements.

Which training topics should care workers cover?

The following table is a starting point for discussing training with your manager. Your employer should select the content and level appropriate to your duties, workplace risks and the people you support.

Training topic	How it relates to care work
Safeguarding adults	Recognising abuse or neglect, reporting concerns and following local safeguarding procedures.
Infection prevention and control	Applying hand hygiene, appropriate PPE use and safe working procedures relevant to your tasks.
Health and safety	Understanding workplace hazards, reporting incidents and following risk assessments.
Fire safety	Knowing what to do in a fire and following the service’s emergency arrangements.
Mental capacity and consent	Seeking consent, supporting decisions and knowing when to ask for advice.
Equality, diversity and human rights	Providing respectful care that recognises individual needs and protects dignity.
Data protection and confidentiality	Handling care records securely and sharing information appropriately.
Learning disability and autism	Developing the understanding and interaction skills appropriate to your role.
Moving and handling people	Preparing for any duties involving transfers, positioning or mobility support.
Medicines support	Preparing for the specific medicines tasks your employer authorises you to perform.
Food safety and hygiene	Understanding safe food handling where you prepare, serve or otherwise handle food.
First aid and basic life support	Developing the emergency-response skills identified for your role and service.

Your training plan may also include communication, nutrition and hydration, dementia, lone working, end-of-life care or specialist support. A topic’s inclusion in this table does not mean every worker needs the same course.

How do requirements differ between care roles?

Start with the tasks you actually perform.

A homecare worker may need preparation for lone working, travelling between visits and responding to an emergency in someone’s home. A care-home worker needs to understand the home’s procedures, equipment and arrangements for supporting residents.

Workers providing medicines support need learning and competence checks relevant to their medicines responsibilities. Workers assisting transfers need preparation for the techniques, equipment and individual moving-and-handling plans they use.

Supporting someone with epilepsy, a stoma or another specific condition may require additional learning and person-specific instruction. An awareness course can build understanding, but it does not automatically authorise someone to carry out a specialist task.

If you are asked to perform a task you have not been prepared for, raise it with your manager before proceeding.

For a practical explanation of individual learning needs, induction and workplace assessment, read our CQC training guide for care workers.

What training should a new care worker complete?

A useful starting sequence is:

1. Review existing evidence. Discuss previous training, experience and assessment records with your employer.
2. Complete local induction. Learn the service’s procedures, reporting routes and emergency arrangements.
3. Address learning gaps. Complete the training identified for your duties.
4. Practise with appropriate supervision. Develop the skills needed for the care you will provide.
5. Confirm competence. Ensure relevant assessments and decisions about independent working are recorded.

Agency and bank workers also need induction to the service and checks that their preparation is suitable for the duties assigned.

How does the Care Certificate fit in?

The Care Certificate sets out 16 standards covering the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of staff new to health and social care. It can support a structured induction.

Online learning can help with knowledge development, but completing an online course alone does not complete the Care Certificate. Required skills must also be assessed appropriately, with evidence that the worker meets the standards.

Employers should use the current Care Certificate standards and assessment resources when planning induction and sign-off.

Learning disability and autism training

CQC-registered providers must ensure staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role, including how to interact appropriately with autistic people and people with a learning disability.

This requirement also applies to services that are not specialist learning disability or autism providers.

The government recommends the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Employers should check training against the associated Code of Practice; a general online awareness course should not automatically be treated as meeting the full requirement.

Read CQC’s learning disability and autism training guidance.

Can care-worker training be completed online?

Online courses can support knowledge learning, induction and refresher training. They allow workers to study around shifts and revisit information when needed.

Practical responsibilities may also require hands-on preparation, supervised practice and assessment. For example, learning the principles of moving and handling online does not demonstrate that a worker can safely use a particular hoist with a particular person.

Similarly, passing a medicines knowledge assessment does not establish competence to carry out every medicines task.

Caredemy provides online knowledge training. We do not provide in-person or virtual practical training. Employers should arrange any necessary practical preparation and workplace competence assessment separately.

When should care workers refresh their training?

There is no universal annual renewal rule for every training topic. Your employer should set appropriate review dates using current topic guidance, legal or contractual requirements, service risks and competence checks.

Additional learning may be needed sooner if:

• Your duties change.
• You use new equipment.
• Someone’s care or support needs change.
• Procedures or relevant guidance are updated.
• An incident, observation or supervision discussion identifies a gap.

Check your assigned review dates with your manager. A certificate records course completion; it does not remove the need to maintain and demonstrate current skills.

Your care-worker training checklist

Use these questions during induction or supervision:

• Do I know which training is required for my duties?
• Have I completed the assigned learning and shared the evidence?
• Do I understand this service’s procedures and reporting routes?
• Have practical skills been assessed where necessary?
• Do I know which tasks still require supervision?
• Are outstanding training actions and review dates clear?

For example, a worker may have completed online moving-and-handling learning but still need practical preparation and assessment before using equipment independently. Their training record should make that outstanding action clear.

Managers overseeing several workers can use our CQC mandatory training guide for managers to plan learning and organise supporting evidence.

Find relevant care-worker training with Caredemy

Caredemy offers CPD-accredited online learning to support care-worker knowledge and development.

Choose courses that match your assigned duties and learning needs. Check the course content against your employer’s training plan and identify any additional practical assessment required.

Browse Caredemy’s online courses to find relevant learning.

Training a whole workforce? Contact Caredemy to discuss Team Training.

Frequently asked questions

What training is mandatory for a care worker?

Your employer identifies the learning required for your duties using relevant requirements, guidance and service risks. There is no single identical course package for every care worker.

Are training requirements different in homecare and care homes?

Some topics overlap, but local preparation differs. Homecare may involve lone working and emergencies in people’s homes, while care-home induction covers the home’s equipment, procedures and emergency arrangements.

Are Caredemy courses CQC approved?

Caredemy provides CPD-accredited online learning. CPD accreditation is separate from CQC regulation. Employers remain responsible for selecting appropriate training and assessing relevant competence.

Is an online certificate enough to start practical care duties?

A certificate records completion of a course and its assessment. It does not automatically demonstrate competence in practical tasks. Your employer must determine what further preparation, supervision and assessment are needed.

Do experienced care workers need induction?

Yes. Previous learning and experience should inform induction, but workers still need preparation for the new service’s procedures, duties and the people they will support.