Choosing the correct course can be difficult when there is a wide variety on offer. The following should help you make a decision, however, please contact our training advisor’s if you need more assistance.
The following information is relevant to both public scheduled courses and in-house courses. For in-house courses we are able to design the course to meet your exact requirements.
| Foundation | Internal Auditor | Lead Auditor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding the requirements of the ISO standard | Yes | – | – |
| Structure, purpose and intent of a management system | Yes | – | – |
| ISO Terminology | Yes – ISO requirements and auditing terminology | Only auditing terminology | Only auditing terminology |
| How to plan and conduct: | |||
| 1st party internal audit | – | Yes | Yes |
| 2nd party supplier audit | – | – | Yes |
| 3rd party certification audit | – | – | Yes |
Course Descriptions
Foundation training
This gives you a detailed understanding of the relevant ISO standard (e.g. ISO 9001 or ISO 14001) and explains the fundamentals of what a management system is and the benefits of using one. This is usually a 1 day course.
Internal Auditor training
This course teaches you the tools and techniques of how to internally audit your management system - also known as 1st party auditing. This type of auditing is where you audit your own company to ensure that it is “doing what it is saying it is doing”. This course does not teach you about the requirements of the ISO standard, it teaches you the skill of internal auditing. This is usually a 2 day course.
Lead Auditor training
This course teaches you the tools and techniques of how to audit at 1st party (internal), 2nd party (supplier) and 3rd party (certification/external) levels. It includes everything from the 2 day internal auditor course, but expands into the following areas (plus many more):
- how to audit your suppliers (or other external body)
- the skills necessary to be the person in charge of your auditing team or a senior person within that team
- how to audit a company (either your own or an external company) to ensure that it is “doing what the ISO standard says you should”
Again, this course does not teach you about the requirements of the ISO standard, it teaches you the skill of multi-level auditing. This is usually a 5 day course.