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Card Hierarchy

This hierarchy chart illustrates the levels of training achievement reflected by the trainer and student cards issued through the OSHA Outreach Training Programs. At the top of the hierarchy are the trainer cards which reflect the highest level of achievement and proficiency.

Trainer card. Signifies authority to teach 10- and 30-hour outreach courses and receive OSHA student completion cards. Individuals become authorized by meeting training and industry safety experience requirements. In order to provide flexibility, trainers are allowed to tailor the 10- and 30-hour training topics to meet the needs of their audience. OSHA specifies mandatory topics along with flexible topic requirements for each industry. Trainer courses are offered by the OSHA Training Institute Education Centers. Trainers must update their training every 4 years.

30-hour card. Students who attend the 30-hour course receive this card. The 30-hour course is intended for supervisors or for workers with some safety responsibility. It provides a greater depth and variety of training on an expanded list of topics associated with workplace hazards than the 10-hour course. Please note that these cards are not issued for completion of OSHA #510 or OSHA #511 courses.

10-hour card. Students who attend the 10-hour course receive this card. The 10-hour course is intended for entry level workers. This course provides information about worker rights, employer responsibilities, and how to file a complaint and provides basic awareness training on the recognition, avoidance, abatement, and prevention of workplace hazards.

Disaster Site Worker card. Students who attend the #7600 Disaster Site Worker Course receive this card. Course #7600 is intended to provide Disaster Site Workers an awareness of the safety and health hazards they may encounter as well as of the importance of respiratory and other personal protective equipment and proper decontamination procedures that may be used to mitigate the hazards.

FAQs

1. Does this chart mean that an employer who requires a 10- or 30-hour card should take a trainer card as a substitute? Becoming an authorized Outreach trainer is the highest achievement in the Outreach Training Program. Trainers are authorized to teach courses for 10- and 30-hour students. It would be reasonable for employers to accept a trainer card in lieu of a 10-hour or 30-hour card, as it clearly reflects a higher level of qualification and training.


2. Does OSHA have final authority regarding which card is accepted? No. Because the Outreach Training Program is voluntary for OSHA, the employer has discretion in the enforcement of safety and health training requirements at their work sites.


3. Can a Construction trainer teach a 10- or 30-hour General Industry or Maritime course? No. Only a trainer who completed the appropriate OSHA industry-related trainer course may teach the 10- or 30-hour classes in those industries.


4. Are authorized OSHA outreach trainers able to teach other persons to become trainers? No. Only OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Centers may conduct OSHA trainer courses and authorize persons as trainers.


5. Do the student course completion cards expire? The student course completion cards in Construction, General Industry, and Disaster Site do not have an expiration date. The form and content of additional training is left to the discretion of the student and/or employer. The student cards provided in the Maritime Outreach Training Program expire five years after the training. To retain a valid 10- or 30-hour Maritime Industry card, students are required to take a student update course prior to their expiration date.