How to Document Informal Training (Without Losing Your Mind)
If you’re already doing the work — here’s how to prove it and report it right
Let’s be real: informal training is the heartbeat of most small businesses.
You don’t have time for week-long seminars or endless classroom sessions. But you do have team leads showing junior staff the ropes, people learning on the job, and informal coaching happening in real time.
That’s training.
And it absolutely qualifies for your WSP/ATR submission — if you document it properly.
📌 Why documentation matters
SETA reviewers aren’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for evidence that development happened.
No proof = no recognition.
No recognition = no grant access.
And that means you’re leaving money on the table.
But here’s the good news:
You don’t need to be a paperwork machine to document training well.
✅ What qualifies as “informal training”?
This includes:
On-the-job demonstrations
Job shadowing
Peer coaching or mentorship
SOP training
Daily work huddles that include a learning component
Short digital learning (YouTube, internal videos, screen shares)
If someone learned a skill that made them more competent at their job — it counts.
🗂️ What kind of proof do you actually need?
Here’s a list of easy, acceptable forms of evidence you can use to support informal learning:
📝 1. Attendance Registers
Keep a simple sign-in sheet (paper or digital) for any internal session.
Even a basic Excel file with names, date, and topic is valid.
📸 2. Photos or Screenshots
A team watching a video
A staff member showing someone how to use the POS
Screenshots of an internal Zoom or WhatsApp training session
Save them to your “training evidence” folder — dated and labelled.
📨 3. Email Confirmations
Did a team lead run a 20-minute safety demo? Ask them to send a quick summary and list of attendees via email.
That email becomes your proof.
📄 4. Short Reflections or Learning Logs
Ask staff to submit a one-paragraph summary of what they learned and how they’ll apply it. This is powerful for soft skills development, mentoring, or coaching moments.
🗃️ 5. Manager Sign-Off Sheets
Create a simple template where supervisors tick off what was taught and who received it.
Example:
“[X] was shown how to create a month-end report using the sales dashboard.”
Signed by: Manager | Date
📱 6. WhatsApp Training Threads
If your team shares how-to videos, voice notes, or mini lessons on WhatsApp — screenshot those threads.
Save them with date + staff names.
🧰 Bonus: Keep a running tracker
Use Excel or Google Sheets to build a living training log that tracks:
Date
Topic
Employees involved
Format (on-the-job, video, internal session, etc.)
Evidence file name/link
This becomes your submission-ready evidence list.
🤯 Most businesses are already doing this
Here’s what it might look like:
Scenario:
Your floor supervisor explains how to label stock correctly for export.
What to do:
Supervisor sends a summary email of what was covered and who was there
You save that email in a “Training Evidence” folder
You log it in your informal training tracker
That’s it. 10 minutes of admin — and it counts.
🚫 What doesn’t count?
Casual chats not tied to a learning outcome
Social mentoring without development intent
Tasks done repeatedly without new learning
Anything without a date, topic, or traceable context
🧠 Final Thoughts
You’re already doing the development.
You just need to show it.
Think of it like this:
Training is what happens. Documentation is what gets recognised.
And recognition means:
Stronger submissions
A better chance at discretionary funding
More confidence in your WSP/ATR
📥 Want a ready-to-use tracker?
The Smart SDF Starter Kit includes:
A printable checklist of what counts as informal training
Tips for documentation
A mini tracker template you can copy and use
📎 Download it free here Or
📞 Book a 15-min call if you’re not sure where to start
