How do I track employee training in Excel?

Use one row per person, per training, per round, with the due date, the completion date and the months between rounds. A next due column of =EDATE(completed date, months) works out renewals, and a status column that compares the dates with TODAY() shows who is overdue. Filter it to Overdue each week. The free template has all of this set up.

What's the difference between a training tracker and a training matrix?

A training matrix shows which roles need which training, usually as a grid. A tracker records each person against it: due dates, completions, proof and renewals. Most small employers need both: a short plan of what each role needs, and a tracker of who has done it.

How long should I keep employee training records?

It depends on the rule. OSHA bloodborne pathogens training records are kept 3 years from the training date (29 CFR 1910.1030(h)(2)(ii)) and asbestos training records 1 year after the employee's last day (29 CFR 1910.1001(m)(4)); many rules name no period at all. Most employers keep training records for years after someone leaves.

Employee Training Tracker: Free Excel Template with Due and Renewal Dates

Short answer: an employee training tracker is a list with one row per person, per training, per round: what it was, when it was due, when they finished, where the proof is kept, and when it's due again. The free template below works out next due dates and colours overdue rows. It opens in Excel or Google Sheets.

Free employee training tracker

A spreadsheet that works out each next due date from the completion date and flags overdue, due soon and complete. It has a blank tracker, a filled-in example and a how-to tab with common renewal intervals. No email needed.

Download the tracker (.xlsx)

This page is part of our guide to how long to keep training records, and what they should show.

What columns a training tracker needs

Employee and their role or location, since most rules apply by job or by state or province.
Training or policy, and the version or certificate number: the policy version they signed, or the certificate a course or certification issued.
Assigned on and due date.
Completed on: the date they finished or signed.
Proof kept: where the signed form or certificate is filed.
Repeats every (months) and next due, for training that renews.
Status: overdue, due soon, complete or not done yet.

Which trainings go in the tracker comes from your plan: what each role needs, by when and how often. Our compliance training plan template builds that list.

How the template works out due and renewal dates

Next due is the completion date plus the months between rounds (=EDATE(completed, months)). That keeps you inside rules that count from the last training, such as bloodborne pathogens training within a year of the previous one.
Fixed yearly dates: where a rule sets a calendar deadline instead, such as December 31 for Illinois harassment training, type that date over the formula.
Status compares the dates with today: red for overdue, yellow from 14 days before a due date or 30 days before a renewal, green for complete.
One row per round: when someone renews, add a new row and keep the old one. The old row is the record for that period.

Filter the Status column to Overdue once a week and follow up with those people.

How often common training repeats

Put these intervals in the "Repeats every" column. Check the rule for each place you have people.

Training	Who	How often	Rule
Harassment prevention, California	Employers with 5 or more workers	Every 2 years	Gov. Code §12950.1
Harassment prevention, New York	Every employer	Every year	Labor Law §201-g
Harassment prevention, Illinois	Every employer	Every year, by December 31	775 ILCS 5/2-109
Harassment prevention, Connecticut	Employers with 3 or more employees	Supplemental training at least every 10 years	Conn. Gen. Stat. §46a-54(15)
Forklift operators	Anyone who operates a powered industrial truck	Performance evaluation at least every 3 years	29 CFR 1910.178(l)(4)
Bloodborne pathogens	Employees with occupational exposure	At least every year, within one year of the previous training	29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(2)
Health and safety awareness, Ontario	Every worker and supervisor	Once	O. Reg. 297/13

Harassment prevention, California

Employers with 5 or more workers. Every 2 years.

Gov. Code §12950.1

Harassment prevention, New York

Every employer. Every year.

Labor Law §201-g

Harassment prevention, Illinois

Every employer. Every year, by December 31.

775 ILCS 5/2-109

Harassment prevention, Connecticut

Employers with 3 or more employees. Supplemental training at least every 10 years.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §46a-54(15)

Forklift operators

Anyone who operates a powered industrial truck. Performance evaluation at least every 3 years.

29 CFR 1910.178(l)(4)

Bloodborne pathogens

Employees with occupational exposure. At least every year, within one year of the previous training.

29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(2)

Health and safety awareness, Ontario

Every worker and supervisor. Once.

O. Reg. 297/13

The requirements finder lists the training each US state, some cities and the Canadian provinces require, with the official source for each. For certifications such as first aid, use the renewal period on the certificate; see how to track employee certifications.

What to keep alongside the tracker

A date typed into a spreadsheet is a claim. The proof is the document behind it: the certificate a course issued, the signed attendance sheet, or the signed policy acknowledgment form for the version the person read. Keep each one where the Proof kept column says it is, and keep the records after people leave; several periods run from the training date or the last day of work. How long to keep training records.

Where a spreadsheet tracker breaks

Nobody is reminded unless someone opens the file and sends the emails.
New hires are added late, or not at all, and they're the people most often missed.
Renewals depend on someone noticing that a row turned yellow.
The proof lives somewhere else, in a folder that has to match the spreadsheet.
Edits leave no trace: a changed date looks the same as a real one.

Tracking training in Ethica

Ethica keeps the same record without the spreadsheet. Add your people one at a time or from a spreadsheet, give them a role, and assign training to everyone or to a role, so new hires get it automatically. Each person gets an email with a private link to their training or policy, with no account to create, and reminders until it's done. The record for each person shows the version they signed or the certificate they uploaded, with the date and time. When someone completes training that repeats, Ethica creates the next round. Admins get an email each Monday listing who is overdue, and the records export as a spreadsheet or a zip of certificates and signed copies. Training people already did elsewhere can be recorded with its date and certificate.

See how to see who has completed their training.

Start a 30-day trial and move your tracker into Ethica.