Legislative Compliance

Top 14 Mandatory Employee Training Courses in Ontario

January 2, 2024

In Canada, employers have an obligation to provide legislatively required training courses. These courses must meet the needs of their workplace and should prevent health and safety incidents. Failure to provide mandatory employee training in Ontario may result in significant financial and legal consequences. Without training, employees may be placed in danger, resulting in increased workplace accidents—which may include injuries, illness, or fatalities—financial impacts, loss of productivity, and legal implications. By learning to understand risks and hazards through training, employees can protect themselves and others from injury or illness on the job.  

Must-have employee training in Ontario for 2024

For most employers, Ontario legislation mandates certain types of training. Employers may also have additional training needs related to their industry, place of work, or jurisdiction. For example, workers in jobs with higher risk (such as jobs in construction and manufacturing) may require more frequent or intensive instruction, or specialized training.  

Organizations must ensure all new and current employees have completed the necessary training, and provide additional training when changes or updates are made. Refer to our Compliance Centre to keep on top of changing health and safety legal requirements for your jurisdiction. To find out what courses you should provide to employees, get our free Guide to Mandatory Employee Training in Ontario. To help get you started, here are two of the training courses we list in our free guide.  

Understanding Human Rights Training (AODA Edition) 

This course explains how the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) work together to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and ensure they can participate fully and equally in society. 

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) 2015 Training  

This introductory course is based on the federal Hazardous Products Regulations and Hazardous Products Act. Canadian law requires that any person exposed to hazardous materials in the workplace be trained on WHMIS. This course teaches employees the basic principles and main components of WHMIS, including hazard identification, pictograms, labelling, safety data sheets, and more.  

Cost-effective training solutions 

Organizations without dedicated resources often struggle to execute and maintain training programs. Creating effective training programs is an investment, and the complexity of the content can be overwhelming, especially in the case of everchanging legislation. To address these challenges, businesses need a time-saving, cost-effective solution. 

HRdownloads offers hundreds of courses in our training library. There is something for every organization and every jurisdiction in our growing course catalogue. Courses offered by HRdownloads align with legislative obligations and help employees develop and retain essential knowledge and skills.  

Ontario training guide 

Our Guide to Mandatory Employee Training in Ontario includes training and immersive courses to give you options that best align with employee learning styles and intended outcomes:  

  • Immersive training courses include fun characters, interesting stories, interactive scenarios, and engagement with learning concepts.  
  • Traditional training courses guide learners down a structured learning path, reinforcing core concepts with hypothetical situations and review questions throughout.  

This guide also lists mandatory employee training in Ontario, as well as our recommendations for effective skill development. These recommendations include industry- and workplace- specific training, as well. You’ll also learn how to track training progress and maintain training records. Hoping to bring a new training program to life or revive an existing one? Let us help you complete your project quicker.  

Get our expert support every step of the way, book a free demo with one of our HR experts today. They’ll take you through a guided review of your organization and identify any areas where our service offerings can save you time and money.