Quick Answer
Mandatory training is training that an employer, regulator or organisation requires you to complete so you can work safely and meet legal, professional or local standards.
For doctors, this commonly includes areas such as:
Basic life support / resuscitation
Safeguarding adults and children
Infection prevention and control
Information governance / data protection
Fire safety
Moving and handling
Equality, diversity and human rights
Mental Capacity Act / consent
Health and safety
Why This Matters
Because mandatory training is one of the easiest ways for an appraiser to check that a doctor is keeping the basics of safe practice up to date across their role.
Mandatory training often covers areas that are fundamental to safe practice — resuscitation, safeguarding, infection control etc.
For appraisal, it is useful because it can show:
you are meeting the requirements of your employer or role
key safety training is current
there are no obvious gaps in essential knowledge
you are maintaining competence across your scope of practice
you have evidence of some structured CPD during the year
What Does the Guidance Actually Require?
The Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF) is essentially the national benchmark used to standardise statutory and mandatory training.
| No. | Core area | No. | Core area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Conflict resolution | 07 | Moving and handling |
| 02 | Equality, diversity and human rights | 08 | Prevent |
| 03 | Fire safety | 09 | Resuscitation |
| 04 | Health, safety and welfare | 10 | Safeguarding adults |
| 05 | Infection prevention and control | 11 | Safeguarding children |
| 06 | Information governance and data security | — | |
These are normally completed through e-learning modules.
What Mandatory Training Should I Keep Up to Date?
Mandatory training is often an annual task, although the exact renewal period depends on the subject, your employer and your role.
Before your appraisal, check the expiry dates on your certificates and make sure any training relevant to your current scope of practice is still in date.
How to Evidence Mandatory Training
Upload the completion certificates for the mandatory training you have completed to the CPD section of your appraisal portfolio.
Ideally, your training should cover the 11 core CSTF areas:
Conflict resolution
Equality, diversity and human rights
Fire safety
Health, safety and welfare
Infection prevention and control
Information governance and data security
Moving and handling
Prevent
Resuscitation
Safeguarding adults
Safeguarding children
What Good Looks Like
This is an area that should generally be easy to check off before your appraisal.
Your relevant mandatory training is:
completed
in date
clearly evidenced with certificates
uploaded to the appropriate section of your portfolio.
Common Mistakes
Assuming last year's certificates are still in date without checking the expiry date.
Completing the training but not uploading the certificates to the appraisal portfolio.
Using mandatory training as almost the whole CPD portfolio. It is useful CPD, but your learning should normally be broader than compliance modules alone.
Myth Trap
Myth“If I have completed all my mandatory training, I have enough CPD for appraisal.”
No.
Mandatory training is useful evidence that you are keeping important safety and compliance requirements up to date, but it should usually form only one part of your wider CPD portfolio.
Completing a full set of mandatory modules is a good foundation. It is not the same thing as demonstrating a broad year of CPD.
Sources / Last Reviewed
Skills for Health — Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF)Sets out the national framework for the main statutory and mandatory training subjects used across health and social care.
NHS England e-Learning for Healthcare — Statutory and Mandatory TrainingProvides free e-learning aligned with the CSTF and is a useful option for doctors who do not have mandatory training provided by an employer.
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/statutory-and-mandatory-training/
GMC — Continuing Professional DevelopmentSets out the expectation that doctors keep their knowledge and skills up to date across their whole scope of practice.
Last reviewed: August 2026