Why is my worker being asked to complete a training after they already started?
Last updated: October 6, 2026
Applies to: Staffing partners whose workers are US W-2 employees on Ascen assignments. Required trainings are an employment or state-law requirement, so independent contractors are generally not assigned them and their partners will not see this.
Summary: Not every required training is assigned on a worker's first day. Some are added to the onboarding checklist later, once the worker has been on the assignment for a set number of days or has worked a set number of hours, and some apply only to certain work locations or types of work. Others repeat on a schedule. A new training step showing up weeks into an assignment is expected, applies to every worker who meets the same conditions, and does not mean anything the worker completed earlier was lost.
Why a training can appear after the start date
Each required course has its own rules for who receives it and when. Depending on the course, it can be set up to:
be due within a set time from the worker's first day on the assignment;
become due only after the worker has been on the assignment for a set number of days;
become due only once the worker has worked a minimum number of hours. Harassment prevention training is a common example: it is added to the worker's checklist after they have built up a set number of hours on assignment, and is then due within a short window;
apply only to particular work locations, types of work, or clients. Some states require specific trainings, such as harassment prevention or a workplace safety program, so whether a worker receives one varies by their work location.
Because of this, two workers who started on the same day can be given different trainings, at different times.
My worker says they already did this training
Start by comparing the course names. The most common explanation is that the worker completed a different course when they started (for example, workplace violence prevention) and the new step is a separate course (for example, harassment prevention). If it really is the same course, one of these usually explains it:
It renews on a schedule. Some trainings have to be retaken, for example every year. See My required training is expiring or has expired: how do I renew it?.
It did not register as finished. A course can require a passing score, not just reaching the end, and the result has to sync back to the checklist. See Required training courses: are they paid, and why does a course keep restarting?.
They took it with another employer. In some cases we can record training completed elsewhere. The worker should email the certificate to support@ascen.com and wait for confirmation before treating the step as done.
Is this just for one worker?
No. Trainings are assigned by rule, not by person. Any worker on your account who meets the same conditions (work location, type of work, days or hours on the assignment) receives the same course. To see which of your workers have an open onboarding step, including a training, run the Onboarding report. See Partner reports: what's available and how to run them.
What to tell your worker
Log in at app.ascen.com, open the onboarding checklist, and work through the course to the end. If it has a quiz, they need to pass it.
Required training time is paid. The hours are added to their record after they complete the course and show up on an upcoming paycheck.
An open training keeps the onboarding reminder emails coming, but it does not by itself stop them entering their hours. They should still finish it, because it is a requirement of the assignment and sometimes of state law. See Why am I still getting onboarding reminder emails, and how to stop them.
Who to contact
Why a training was assigned, a worker who has finished a course that still shows as incomplete, or a certificate from another employer: email support@ascen.com.
Fitting the training into the worker's schedule: agree that with your client and the worker as usual.