Forklift Operator Refresher Training Requirement 2027

From 1 January 2027, MOM will require forklift operators to complete forklift-operator refresher training at least once every three years after completing the initial WSQ Operate Forklift Course, and at least once every three years after completing their previous refresher training (MOM, 3 Jan 2025). MOM issued the requirement under the Workplace Safety and Health framework; the circular said it intended to amend the laws in due course to make it mandatory from that date.

Enhanced course format

The enhanced refresher course replaces the current refresher course offered by training providers. It consists of four hours of asynchronous e-learning with assessment, four hours of case-study group discussion, and four hours of hands-on practical training with assessment (MOM, 3 Jan 2025). Its content includes safety concepts, industry guidance, lessons from past incidents and practical risk management.

The course is designed as a recurring competence refresh rather than a one-time replacement for the initial qualification. MOM says the group discussion is intended to help operators recognise and manage risks arising in everyday operations, while the practical component tests hands-on application. The circular was addressed not only to operators and employers but also to forklift owners, approved learning service providers, unions and other interested parties, reflecting the workplace-safety chain around the training requirement (MOM, 3 Jan 2025).

MOM introduced the enhanced course in the context of forklift risk: the circular cited statistics from 2022 to 2023 indicating that one in four vehicular fatalities involved forklifts. That statistic explains the safety rationale for recurring theory and practical training, but it is not a claim that every forklift incident has the same cause or that completing the course alone eliminates workplace risk. Employers and occupiers still need broader risk controls and safe operating arrangements (MOM, 3 Jan 2025).

Employer and operator responsibilities

Occupiers, employers and principals are responsible for ensuring that forklift operators complete the refresher course within the specified timeframe before authorising them to operate forklifts. The circular therefore places the operational compliance responsibility on the workplace parties, while operators are encouraged to complete the course early; it does not make the listed training providers a permanent or exhaustive list (MOM, 3 Jan 2025).

The circular says operators have until 1 January 2027 to comply with both three-year intervals: once after the initial WSQ Operate Forklift Course and once after the previous refresher course. MOM also strongly encourages employers to schedule training well in advance and says the law will be amended in due course to make the requirement mandatory from that date. The circular is therefore an advance implementation notice for a dated workplace-safety requirement, not evidence that the new statutory duty began when the circular was issued on 3 January 2025 (MOM, 3 Jan 2025).

Responsibility is distributed across the workplace: the operator must attend and apply the training, while the occupier, employer or principal must ensure completion before authorising forklift operation. Approved learning service providers deliver the course, but their appearance in MOM's appendix does not make them the only permanent providers or shift the employer's compliance duty to the training provider. This distinction helps separate training delivery from workplace authorisation and risk management (MOM, 3 Jan 2025).