COR and SECOR Readiness for Employers
Once you have registered and enrolled, scroll to the Course Content section at the end of this page to begin your lessons.
Our online COR training helps employers understand how to plan, implement, evaluate, and maintain a health and safety management system, and how to prepare honestly for a COR audit or SECOR evaluation. A course does not build or implement the system for the employer. In 16 narrated video lessons, owners, managers, and program leads compare common COR and SECOR concepts, learn how auditors gather objective evidence, and identify the certifying-partner rules that must be verified for certification and maintenance. This is COR readiness training for employers. It doesn’t replace or count toward the courses your certifying partner requires.
Training a team? For online group training, buy your enrolments here, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account. If you’d like hands-on help with your program, see our COR and SECOR Certification Support.
Learn more about how our online safety training works.
Some owners and prime contractors require COR or an accepted equivalent for bidding, and some workers’ compensation programs offer incentives subject to their current eligibility rules. The operational value comes from a system that is properly designed, resourced, implemented, and verified—not from the certificate alone. Auditors test evidence through documents and records, interviews, and workplace observations.
This is preparation and awareness training for employers. It doesn’t certify any company or person, it isn’t COR auditor or SECOR assessor training, it doesn’t replace or count toward any certifying partner’s required courses, and it doesn’t promise an audit result.
Calgary Safety Consultants isn’t a certifying partner and doesn’t issue COR or SECOR certificates. This course isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by any certifying partner, workers’ compensation board, government COR program or the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA). COR and SECOR participation is generally voluntary, although a client, owner, contract, or procurement process may require certification. Occupational health and safety law applies regardless. The applicable certifying partner, industry, certification level, current standard, audit tool, protocol version, and program rules must be confirmed before acting on course information.
The course uses plan-do-check-act concepts consistent with ISO 45001 management-system principles. ISO 45001 is a voluntary benchmark unless legislation, contract, client requirements, or a certification arrangement makes a particular edition applicable. Course completion does not establish ISO 45001 conformity, certification readiness, or certification.
Online COR Training at a Glance
Price: $45.99 CAD plus GST per learner
Delivery: 100% online and self-paced
Course format: 16 narrated video lessons in five modules, with Canadian workplace examples and a knowledge check after every lesson
Course length (estimated): About 5.5 hours, including about 5 hours of lesson video plus the knowledge checks and final exam
Assessment: A three-question knowledge check after every lesson (100% to continue) and a 16-question final exam (80% to pass), with unlimited retries
Includes: A downloadable 106-page Student Reference Guide with a card for every teaching slide, lesson summaries, seven COR and SECOR reference tables, official sources and 14 worksheets and checklists
Certificate: Certificate of Completion
Covers: Common COR and SECOR management-system concepts and jurisdictional differences. Not every jurisdiction, industry, or certifying partner uses the same program, protocol, eligibility rules, or terminology
Developed by: Calgary Safety Consultants, led by John Duplessis, a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) with COR audit experience
What Does This COR Training Cover?
This COR training explains a common preparation path: confirm the applicable program and certifying partner, establish the management system, implement it long enough to produce credible evidence, assess gaps, complete the required training and audits, and maintain the certificate under the program’s current rules.
You’ll learn how to:
- Explain what COR and SECOR recognize and how they sit on top of OH&S law.
- Choose the right certifying partner and plan for reciprocity before you bid in another province or territory.
- Plan the steps, timelines, people and budget from registration to certificate.
- Use Plan-Do-Check-Act and a clear, controlled document hierarchy to run your system.
- Write a policy people understand, define responsibilities and show management commitment.
- Run hazard assessments with your workers and connect FLHAs to your JHAs.
- Build procedures, orientation, a training matrix and competency checks that hold up.
- Run inspections, preventive maintenance, incident investigations and emergency drills that close the loop.
- Reach every worker, support participation and manage contractors.
- Keep credible records, prepare people honestly and run an honest gap assessment.
- Choose between SECOR and COR, then keep your certificate through maintenance years and management review.
Lessons end with workplace examples and decision points from real Canadian settings, such as a lost bid in Lethbridge, a resort in Banff or a five-person HVAC company in Red Deer.
How COR Safety Certification Works in Canada
A Certificate of Recognition (COR) is issued under a specific program after an employer’s health and safety management system is audited and the audit passes that program’s requirements. Certification reflects the evidence sampled at the time of the audit; it does not by itself prove legal compliance or that every control is effective every day. The certifying partner or program authority sets the eligibility, required training, audit tool, evidence rules, quality-assurance process, and maintenance requirements. SECOR or another small-employer option is available only where the applicable program offers it.
For construction, the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations maintains a national COR accreditation framework delivered by member associations that act as the authority having jurisdiction in their province or territory. Other programs use different authorities and names, including Alberta COR, WorkSafeBC COR, Manitoba SAFE Work Certified, and Ontario COR 2020. Three-year cycles with annual maintenance are common in Alberta and British Columbia, but pass marks, certificate terms, maintenance thresholds, auditor qualifications, and deadlines are program-specific. For example, Alberta certification and renewal audits require 80% overall and at least 50% in each element; those thresholds must not be presented as universal.
COR safety certification sits on top of the law, not in place of it. A certificate doesn’t stop inspections, orders or charges. The Student Reference Guide’s reference tables summarize COR and SECOR programs in all 14 jurisdictions, checked against official sources on November 6, 2026. Programs change often, so confirm details with your certifying partner and workers’ compensation board.
Who Should Take This COR Training?
This course is intended for Canadian employers exploring, pursuing, or maintaining COR, SECOR, or a related safety certification where the applicable program accepts their industry and workplace. Program availability and eligibility must be confirmed.
It’s suitable for:
- Owners, presidents and senior managers who need to lead COR, not just sign off on it
- Operations, HR and general managers who share responsibility for safety
- Safety coordinators and program leads running a COR or SECOR effort
- Small business owners weighing SECOR or a small employer program
- Supervisors and managers who’ll be interviewed during an audit
- Employers asked for COR in a bid or prequalification
Employers often use this COR training to bring a new program lead up to speed or as a refresher before a maintenance year. Our OH&S leadership, hazard assessment, workplace inspection and compliance and incident and emergency management training support the same system for your leaders and crews.
COR Audit Preparation: Course Features
Our course combines COR audit preparation with the everyday work of building and running the system, so the audit reflects what really happens on your sites.
Course features include:
- 100% online and self-paced
- 16 narrated video lessons in five modules
- Common management-system themes that appear in many COR and SECOR protocols, with a requirement to compare them against the applicable audit tool
- Hazard identification with the 12 CSC Energy Sources, such as Gravity, Motion and Psychosocial
- Honest audit preparation, including the lines you never cross
- A three-question knowledge check after each lesson, with feedback after each answer
- A 16-question final exam, with one question from every lesson
- A downloadable Student Reference Guide with seven reference tables
- A Certificate of Completion
The Student Reference Guide includes 14 worksheets and checklists:
- Starting Out: COR or SECOR Decision Checklist
- Certification Plan: 12-Month Planner
- Health and Safety Management System and Document Check
- Hazard Assessment and FLHA Check
- Procedures, Training and Competency Check
- Inspections and Preventive Maintenance Check
- Incident Reporting and Investigation Check
- Emergency Preparedness Check
- Communication, Participation and Contractors Check
- Evidence Index by Element
- People and Audit Day Readiness
- Gap Assessment and Action Plan Worksheet
- SECOR and Small Employer Check
- Maintenance Year Calendar
They’re practical readiness aids, not audit tools, and they don’t replace any certifying partner’s audit tool or self-evaluation. For more depth on single elements, see our guides to job hazard analysis, field level hazard assessments, incident investigation and corrective actions.
Certificate of Recognition Readiness Modules
Five modules follow the road to a certificate of recognition, from your first decision to your maintenance years. Each lesson is one narrated video with a knowledge check.
Module One: Understanding COR and SECOR
Module One explains what COR and SECOR recognize, how programs and certifying partners work across Canada, and the road to certification.
Lessons:
- Lesson One: What COR and SECOR Are and Why They Matter
- Lesson Two: How COR Works Across Canada
- Lesson Three: The Road to Certification
Module Two: Building the System Auditors Look For
Module Two explains common management-system elements, from leadership and controlled documents to hazard assessment, procedures, training, and competency. Employers must align each element with their governing law, hazards, operations, and verified audit protocol.
Lessons:
- Lesson Four: The Health and Safety Management System Behind COR
- Lesson Five: Leadership, Policy and Responsibilities
- Lesson Six: Hazard Assessment and Control
- Lesson Seven: Safe Work Practices, Procedures, Training and Competency
Module Three: Putting the System to Work
Module Three explains how inspections, incident investigations, emergency preparedness, worker participation, and contractor management can produce implementation evidence. The employer must resource, implement, supervise, and verify these activities in practice.
Lessons:
- Lesson Eight: Inspections and Preventive Maintenance
- Lesson Nine: Incident Reporting and Investigation
- Lesson Ten: Emergency Preparedness
- Lesson Eleven: Communication, Participation and Contractors
Module Four: Getting Audit Ready
Module Four explains credible records, honest preparation for interviews and observations, and a gap assessment before the audit. Training does not establish audit readiness; unresolved gaps must be corrected and implementation verified.
Lessons:
- Lesson Twelve: Records and the Three Ways Auditors Gather Evidence
- Lesson Thirteen: Preparing People for Interviews and Observations
- Lesson Fourteen: Gap Assessment, Action Plans and the Audit Itself
Module Five: SECOR and Keeping Your Certificate
Module Five covers SECOR and small employer programs, then keeping your certificate through maintenance years, management review and change.
Lessons:
- Lesson Fifteen: SECOR and Small Employer Programs
- Lesson Sixteen: Maintaining Your Certificate and Improving Continually
Want a second set of eyes before your audit? See our COR Readiness Review, COR Gap Review, Mock COR Audit, SECOR Evaluation Prep and Certification-Ready Package. Starting from scratch? See our Starter Safety Manual Package or customized safety manuals, then adapt them to your real work.
Complete Your Online COR Training
Enrol on this page, then work through the COR training lessons in order. After each video, complete the lesson’s three-question knowledge check. You need all three answers correct (100%) to move on, with feedback after each answer and unlimited retries.
After Lesson 16, complete the 16-question final exam, with one question from each lesson in random order. You need 13 correct answers (80%) to pass, and you can retake it as often as you need. Once you’ve completed all 16 lessons, their knowledge checks and the final exam, you can download your Certificate of Completion.
The certificate records completion of this online preparation and awareness course. It is not a COR or SECOR, does not count toward a certifying partner’s required courses, and does not prove legal compliance, management-system implementation, audit readiness, or an audit result.
Frequently Asked Questions About COR Training
Does this COR training replace my certifying partner’s required courses?
No. This is COR readiness training for employers. It doesn’t replace or count toward any certifying partner’s required courses, such as its management system, leadership, small employer or auditor courses, and it isn’t COR auditor or SECOR assessor training. Register for the courses your certifying partner requires.
How long does it take to get COR?
It depends on your program and where your system starts. From scratch, plan in months, not weeks, because your records need to show the system running before the audit. For example, the Government of Alberta says the process may take 12 months or more without an existing system. Check your certifying partner’s timelines and deadlines.
Is SECOR right for my company?
It may be, if your business is small enough and your certifying partner offers it. Size limits and the way workers are counted differ by program. For example, the Government of Alberta describes SECOR for businesses with up to 10 employees, and British Columbia’s small employer options are generally for employers with fewer than 20 workers. Owners, part-time staff and family members may count, so confirm your count with your certifying partner.
How long does the online COR training take?
We estimate about 5.5 hours: about 5 hours of lesson video, plus the knowledge checks and final exam. You can stop and return at any time.
Do I receive a certificate?
Yes. You receive a Certificate of Completion after you complete all 16 lessons, their knowledge checks and the 16-question final exam (13 of 16 correct, 80%, with unlimited retakes). It isn’t a COR or SECOR and doesn’t count toward any certifying partner’s training requirements.
Can employers purchase training for a team?
Yes. Employers can buy online training for two or more learners on this page. After placing your order, complete our Group Training Student Information form with your order number and each learner’s details so we can set up their accounts.
Does this course apply in my province or territory?
It introduces common management-system concepts and summarizes program differences across Canada. It does not mean COR or SECOR is available to every employer or that one set of rules applies in all 14 jurisdictions. Confirm the jurisdiction, industry, program authority, certifying partner, certification level, current protocol and version, eligibility, required courses, and audit evidence rules.
Will this course help us pass our COR audit?
It can help you understand the process, identify preparation tasks, and approach the audit honestly, but it does not build or implement the system and cannot promise a result. Calgary Safety Consultants is not a certifying partner and is not affiliated with or endorsed by a certifying partner or the CFCSA. Results depend on the applicable protocol and the objective evidence of implementation found in documents and records, interviews, and workplace observations.
Additional COR and SECOR Resources
These official sources sit behind this COR training. Use them alongside your certifying partner’s current rules.
COR (Certificate of Recognition)
Issued by: Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA)
The national COR program, and how member associations grant COR where you work.
COR (Certificate of Recognition)
COR program participation in British Columbia
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
How British Columbia employers register, get audited and keep COR.
Program participation
Get a Certificate of Recognition in Alberta
Issued by: Government of Alberta
COR and SECOR in Alberta, and what an audit includes.
Get a Certificate of Recognition (COR)
SAFE Work Certified in Manitoba
Issued by: SAFE Work Manitoba (WCB Manitoba)
Manitoba’s safety and health certification standard and its prevention rebate.
SAFE Work Certified
Get a Certificate of Recognition in Yukon
Issued by: Government of Yukon
COR and SECOR in Yukon, including COR on government construction contracts.
Get a Certificate of Recognition (COR)
COR, SECOR and Prequalification Guides
Issued by: Calgary Safety Consultants
Our free guides to preparing for a COR audit, a SECOR evaluation and audit interviews.
COR, SECOR and Prequalification, How to Prepare for a COR Audit, How to Prepare for a SECOR Evaluation and How to Prepare Workers and Supervisors for COR Audit Interviews
Related courses: Hazard Assessment and Control for Canadian Workplaces, Online Inspection Training, Incident Reporting and Investigation Training and Health and Safety for Small Business.
