On completion, learners will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

• The properties, types and industrial history of asbestos
• The health effects of asbestos exposure and the latency of asbestos-related disease
• The legal framework, including the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the associated Approved Code of Practice (L143)
• The duty to manage asbestos under Regulation 4 and the responsibilities of the dutyholder
• How asbestos-containing materials are identified, classified and assessed
• The differences between management surveys and refurbishment or demolition surveys
• How to interpret survey reports and maintain an asbestos register
• The development, implementation and review of an asbestos management plan
• Material and priority risk assessment and how risk scores are derived
• Control, monitoring, labelling and record-keeping requirements
• The arrangements for licensed, notifiable non-licensed and non-licensed asbestos work
• Emergency procedures and the communication of asbestos information to contractors and others

• Asbestos remains the largest single cause of work-related death in Great Britain, and the majority of those deaths trace back to building trades rather than removal work.
• Undisturbed asbestos in good condition is generally not a risk. Disturbance creates the exposure, and disturbance is usually incidental to some other job.
• The duty to manage applies to non-domestic premises. It requires identification, assessment, a record, a plan, implementation, review and the provision of information.
• Information reaching the right person is the whole point. A register nobody consults before drilling protects nobody.
• A management survey is not a refurbishment survey. Relying on the wrong one before opening up a building is a recurring and serious failure.
• Latency hides the consequence. Exposure today produces disease decades later, long after anyone connects the two.

• Level 2 qualification for dutyholders, building managers, maintenance and contractor personnel
• Delivered entirely online through the Britsafe learning management system (LMS) no physical classroom attendance is required
• Course materials are provided digitally (soft copy) via the LMS
• Assessed via an online examination through the Britsafe Examination Management System (EMS), with a minimum pass mark of 70%
• Certification issued with an anti-counterfeit hologram security seal, available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy
• Built around the duty to manage rather than removal work
• Explains the difference between survey types and why it matters
• Covers the categories of asbestos work and their differing requirements
• Addresses uncontrolled release and what to do in the first minutes
• Available fully online to learners in the UK and internationally

Knowledge developed:

• Asbestos types, uses, health effects and the significance of latency
• Where asbestos-containing materials occur and how condition affects risk
• The duty to manage: identification, assessment, record, plan, review and information
• Survey types, registers, management plans and monitoring
• Categories of asbestos work, emergency response, clearance and waste

Skills developed:

• Applying the pre-2000 date test when assessing a building
• Recognising materials likely to contain asbestos
• Consulting the register before any work that could disturb the fabric
• Recognising when a refurbishment survey is required rather than a management survey
• Providing register information to contractors before work begins
• Stopping work and responding correctly to a suspected uncontrolled release

This Award is designed for those with responsibility for or working in buildings, including:

• Dutyholders under the duty to manage
• Building, facilities and estates managers
• Property and letting managers
• Maintenance and engineering personnel
• Caretakers and site managers
• Electricians, plumbers, joiners and heating engineers
• Cable, alarm and telecoms installers
• Cleaning and janitorial supervisors
• Contractors and subcontractors working on buildings
• Project managers commissioning refurbishment
• Local authority, housing and education estates staff
• Health, safety and compliance personnel

No prior qualification is required, though this Award assumes an interest in or responsibility for buildings.

There are no formal academic prerequisites for this Level 2 Award. It is open to learners aged 16 and above with a reasonable standard of spoken and written English, sufficient to engage with course materials and complete the assessment. No prior asbestos knowledge is assumed.

Course content is structured around progressive learning blocks covering asbestos types and properties; historical use in construction; health effects and latency; why building trades are most affected; dates of use and prohibition; asbestos-containing materials and their locations; type, condition and risk; the duty to manage and who holds it; reasonable steps to identify; presumption; management surveys; refurbishment and demolition surveys; the asbestos register; the management plan; condition assessment and monitoring; providing information to those working on the building; permit and contractor control arrangements; licensed, notifiable non-licensed and non-licensed work; uncontrolled release procedures; clearance and reoccupation; asbestos waste; and training requirements by role.

Assessment is conducted through an online examination via the Britsafe Examination Management System (EMS). Learners must achieve a minimum score of 70% to pass. On successful completion, learners receive a certificate, available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy. Results and certificates are typically issued promptly following successful completion.

While this Level 2 Award does not confer competence to work with asbestos, it provides relevant grounding for roles including:

• Building, Facilities or Estates Manager
• Property or Letting Manager
• Maintenance Supervisor or Technician
• Caretaker or Site Manager
• Project Manager commissioning building work
• Compliance or Health and Safety Coordinator
• A stepping stone toward asbestos management, surveying and building compliance pathways

Property and facilities management

• Construction, refurbishment and demolition
• Social housing and residential management
• Education estates and school management
• Healthcare estates and NHS property
• Local government and public buildings
• Retail and commercial property
• Utilities and infrastructure
• Building services and maintenance contracting
• Insurance and surveying support roles
• Any organisation occupying or managing pre-2000 buildings

• Supports compliance with the duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises
• Reduces the risk of accidental disturbance during maintenance and minor works
• Improves the practice of issuing register information before work begins
• Reduces the risk of commissioning the wrong survey before refurbishment
• Improves recognition of materials likely to contain asbestos
• Improves response to suspected uncontrolled releases
• Clarifies which work requires licensed contractors and which does not
• Provides documented evidence of training for audit, insurance and enforcement purposes

• A recognised, portable credential relevant across property and building sectors
• Understanding of the hazard that kills more workers than any other in Britain
• Flexible online delivery that fits around working patterns
• Knowledge that protects them personally during building work
• Clarity about what they must not do and when to stop
• A foundation for progression into asbestos management and surveying routes

Learners can apply this qualification directly to:

• Establishing when a building was constructed and last refurbished
• Consulting the asbestos register before any work affecting the fabric
• Providing register information to contractors before they start
• Recognising materials likely to contain asbestos in ceilings, panels and services
• Recognising damaged or deteriorating materials and reporting them
• Commissioning a refurbishment and demolition survey before opening up a building
• Ensuring surveys cover the areas actually being worked on
• Stopping work immediately where suspected asbestos is disturbed
• Preventing spread and keeping people out following a suspected release
• Checking that contractors hold appropriate training and, where required, a licence
• Ensuring asbestos waste is handled as hazardous waste
• Reviewing and updating the register when materials are removed or damaged

This Award is best positioned as management-level understanding. Learners often progress into:

• Asbestos awareness refresher training appropriate to their role
• Non-licensed asbestos work training where their duties require it
• Duty to manage and asbestos management planning training
• Asbestos surveying qualifications
• Building surveying and compliance qualifications
• CDM and refurbishment project management training
• Level 3 occupational health and safety qualifications

• Asbestos management and surveying career routes
• Building compliance and estates management pathways
• Construction project management with refurbishment focus
• Health and safety adviser roles in property sectors
• Professional membership routes with relevant building, surveying and safety bodies

Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited delivers this qualification fully online, making it accessible to learners across the UK and internationally without the need to attend a physical training centre. The health effects of asbestos, the materials in which it was used and the principle that undisturbed material in good condition presents less risk than disturbed material apply universally. Prohibition dates, duty holder obligations, survey types, licensing arrangements and training requirements are national, and asbestos remains in use in some countries, so learners working outside Great Britain should confirm the framework applicable locally.

1. What does this qualification cover?
It covers the management of asbestos in buildings: asbestos types and health effects, where asbestos-containing materials occur, the duty to manage, surveys, registers and management plans, condition assessment, providing information to those working on the building, the categories of asbestos work, uncontrolled release procedures, clearance and waste, and training requirements.

2. Does this qualification allow me to work with asbestos?
No, and this is important before purchasing. This Award builds understanding of asbestos management in buildings. It does not authorise any work with asbestos-containing materials. Licensed work requires a licensed contractor. Non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed work require specific training for the tasks involved. Surveying, analysis and clearance are separate specialisms with their own qualifications.

3. Does it satisfy asbestos awareness training requirements?
It can contribute to that understanding, but the employer remains responsible for ensuring that anyone liable to disturb asbestos receives training that is appropriate to their work, covers the required content and is kept up to date. Whether this Award satisfies that duty for a particular role is a decision for the employer, and it should be checked against the current requirements rather than assumed. It does not replace task-specific training for those carrying out work on asbestos-containing materials.

4. Which buildings might contain asbestos?
Any building constructed or refurbished before its prohibition took full effect around the turn of the century. Asbestos was used in an enormous range of products across decades, so a building of that age should be assumed to contain asbestos-containing materials until identified otherwise. The construction date and the date of the last significant refurbishment are the first two questions to ask.

5. Where is asbestos typically found?
Throughout buildings rather than in one place. Sprayed coatings on steelwork, thermal insulation on pipes and boilers, insulating board used in ceilings, partitions, soffits, panels behind heaters and within fire doors, asbestos cement in roof and wall sheets, gutters, flues and water tanks, textured decorative coatings, floor tiles and their bitumen adhesive, rope seals and gaskets in heating systems, and various textiles and papers. Services routes, risers and voids are common locations and are exactly where trades work.

6. Is asbestos dangerous if it is left alone?
Generally not. Material in good condition, sealed or enclosed and undisturbed, does not release significant fibres. This is why the duty is to manage asbestos rather than to remove it, and why removal can increase risk if it is unnecessary or badly done. What creates exposure is disturbance drilling, cutting, sanding, breaking, sweeping up debris and deterioration over time.

7. Who holds the duty to manage?
Whoever has responsibility for maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises, usually through a lease or contract, or otherwise whoever controls the premises. It can be shared, and in multi-occupied buildings more than one party may hold duties over different parts. Where a lease is silent, control of the premises determines it. Establishing this clearly is the first step, because a duty nobody has accepted is rarely discharged.

8. What is the difference between the two survey types?
A management survey locates asbestos that could be disturbed during normal occupation and maintenance. It is carried out with the building in use and deliberately avoids significant damage to the fabric, so it does not find everything. A refurbishment and demolition survey is intrusive and destructive, carried out in areas that have been vacated, and is intended to locate all asbestos before the fabric is opened up or the building demolished. A management survey does not clear a building for refurbishment, and relying on one before opening up walls, floors or ceilings is a recurring cause of uncontrolled exposure.

9. What should an asbestos register contain?
The location, type, extent and condition of identified and presumed asbestos-containing materials, together with the basis on which each entry was made, the date of assessment and any labelling or control measures. It needs to be accessible to those who need it, understandable to people who are not specialists, and critically kept current as materials are removed, damaged, repaired or discovered.

10. What does the management plan add?
The register records what is present; the plan records what is being done about it. It sets out how the material will be managed, who is responsible, monitoring and inspection arrangements, how information will be provided to those working on the building, procedures for emergencies, arrangements for planned work and removal, and review dates. A register with no plan attached is a list, not a management arrangement.

11. How does information reach the people who need it?
Deliberately, and before work starts. In practice this means an established procedure whereby anybody carrying out work that could disturb the fabric employee or contractor is given the relevant register information and acknowledges it, frequently within a permit arrangement. This is where the duty to manage either works or fails, because a register held in an office by somebody who was not asked protects nobody.

12. What are the different categories of asbestos work?
Broadly three. Licensed work must be carried out by a contractor holding a licence and covers higher-risk materials and activities, including most work with sprayed coatings, lagging and insulating board in poor condition. Notifiable non-licensed work does not require a licence but does require notification, medical surveillance and record keeping. Non-licensed work covers lower-risk activities on materials such as asbestos cement and textured coatings. Which category applies depends on the material, its condition and what is being done to it, and it is a judgement to be made on proper advice rather than assumed.

13. What should happen if asbestos is disturbed accidentally?
Stop immediately. Leave the area and prevent others entering. Do not sweep, brush or use a domestic vacuum, as this disperses fibres. Keep any clothing and equipment involved in the area or contained. Report it at once so that the situation can be assessed, the area sealed and specialist advice obtained. Prompt action limits both the spread and the number of people exposed.

14. Why does latency matter so much?
Because it removes the feedback that normally drives caution. Diseases caused by asbestos typically develop decades after exposure, so the person drilling through a ceiling tile experiences nothing at all no smell, no irritation, no immediate effect and receives no signal that anything has happened. Nothing about the moment communicates its seriousness, which is precisely why the controls have to be procedural rather than instinctive.

15. Is asbestos waste ordinary waste?
No. Asbestos waste is hazardous waste and must be handled, packaged, labelled, carried and disposed of accordingly, at facilities permitted to receive it, with the appropriate documentation. It cannot be placed in general skips or ordinary waste streams.

16. Who is this qualification aimed at?
Dutyholders, building and facilities managers, property managers, maintenance staff, caretakers, trades working on buildings, contractors, project managers commissioning refurbishment, estates staff and health and safety personnel.

17. Are there any entry requirements?
No formal prerequisites are required. Learners should have a reasonable standard of English and be aged 16 or above.

18. How is the qualification assessed?
Through an online examination via the Britsafe Examination Management System, with a minimum pass mark of 70%.

19. What materials are provided with the course?
Learners receive digital (soft copy) course materials via the Britsafe learning management system. The course is delivered entirely online; there is no physical classroom attendance or physical course material.

20. What happens after I pass the exam?
Successful learners receive a certificate from Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited, featuring an anti-counterfeit hologram seal for authenticity. The certificate is available both as a physical copy and as a soft (digital) copy.

21. Is this qualification recognised internationally?
Yes. Britsafe Qualifications UK Limited delivers this qualification fully online to learners across the UK and internationally, though prohibition dates, duty holder obligations and licensing arrangements are national and should be checked locally.

22. Can this qualification lead to further study?
Yes. It provides a foundation for asbestos management planning, surveying qualifications, building compliance study and Level 3 occupational health and safety qualifications.