Quality Manager Training
free online training for quality managers — status ISO 9001:2015 with the 2024 amendment, with certificate
- 65–95 min
- 18 modules
- Free certificate
- No account needed
- Updated November 2026
👥 Target group: New and prospective quality managers and their deputies, Managing directors of small companies who take on the QM tasks themselves
Which legal duty or standard requirement does this training cover?
About this training
The quality manager is the key role in most ISO 9001 companies — and is often handed to someone “on the side”, without a budget for a multi-day seminar. Yet since the 2015 edition the function is no longer mandatory in the standard: clause 5.3 requires top management to assign roles, responsibilities and authorities, and clause 7.2 requires the person to be competent for it and that this is demonstrated.
This training teaches in 18 modules what a QM role in the everyday life of a small or medium-sized company really needs: the pragmatic QM philosophy from more than 1,000 consulting projects, the normative frame with the 2024 climate amendment and a cautious outlook on ISO 9001:2026, the role of the quality manager under 5.3, terms of the standard, process approach and PDCA, documented information, risks and opportunities, quality objectives, supplier evaluation, competence and qualification matrix, customer satisfaction, the control of nonconforming outputs and corrective actions, internal audit, management review, the certification cycle and a practice case on presenting an order in the audit. 25 questions, certificate of participation with a verifiable number and complete list of topics.
What this course covers — and what it does not: The training teaches the basic knowledge for a QM role under ISO 9001 and documents it as evidence of competence in the sense of clause 7.2. It is not a personnel certification as quality manager by a personnel certification body, does not replace auditor training under ISO 19011 and no consulting on your own QMS. The company-specific part — who holds the QM tasks, where documents are, which certification body and which dates apply — only your company knows; that is what the module “Procedure in our company” is for. Information on ISO 9001:2026 is based on the edition published on 16 September 2026. This is a translation of the German course for readers worldwide — in case of doubt the German edition applies.
Contents at a glance
- The QM philosophy — describe instead of inventQM philosophy: describe practised reality instead of inventing new processes, as little documentation as possible and as much as necessary, enable instead of create dependence
- The normative frame — ISO 9001:2015 with the 2024 amendment and outlook on 2026Normative frame: ISO 9001:2015 with amendment Amd 1:2024 (climate change in 4.1 and 4.2), meaning of ISO and the national adoptions, reasons for certification, outlook on ISO 9001:2026 and transition period
- The role of the quality manager — what the standard requires todayRole of the quality manager: no mandatory management representative since 2015, assignment of roles, responsibilities and authorities under 5.3, responsibility of top management under 5.1, evidence of competence under 7.2
- Terms of the standard explained plainlyTerms of the standard: external providers, nonconformity, management review, quality policy, interested parties, context of the organisation, competence and documented information in everyday language
- Process approach and PDCA cycleProcess approach and PDCA: processes with inputs, outputs and responsible persons (4.4), order process from enquiry to invoice, Plan-Do-Check-Act as the cycle of improvement
- Documented information — which documents you really needDocumented information (7.5): documents to be maintained and records to be retained, no mandatory manual since 2015, process description, procedure and work instruction, control and updating
- Risks and opportunities — risk-based thinkingRisks and opportunities (6.1): risk-based thinking, context and interested parties (4.1, 4.2) including climate change, evaluation probability times impact, actions and annual update
- Quality objectives and process KPIsQuality objectives (6.2): measurable, monitored objectives with actions, responsible persons, resources and date, SMART wording, annual evaluation and reasoning when an objective is missed
- Supplier evaluation — controlling external providersExternal providers (8.4): criteria for evaluation, selection, monitoring of performance and re-evaluation, typical evaluation criteria, handling poor results and retaining the records
- Competence, training and qualification matrixCompetence (7.2): determine needs, train, retain records, evaluate the effectiveness of actions, qualification matrix for competences, training needs and deputies, awareness (7.3)
- Determining and using customer satisfactionCustomer satisfaction (9.1.2): monitor customers' perception, methods from survey to self-assessment, handling positive and negative feedback, passing on to action plan and management review
- Nonconforming outputs, corrective actions and action planControl of nonconforming outputs (8.7): identify, quarantine, correct, inform the customer, concession; nonconformity and corrective action (10.2) with root cause analysis and effectiveness check; action plan with what, who, by when, status
- The internal auditInternal audit (9.2): conduct at planned intervals, audit programme, objectivity and impartiality, open questions, audit report, audit findings from conformity through improvement potential to major and minor nonconformity
- The management reviewManagement review (9.3): review by top management at planned intervals, inputs under 9.3.2 from status of actions to resources, outputs under 9.3.3, retention as documented information
- External audit and certification cycleExternal audit: certification audit in two stages, annual surveillance audits, recertification before expiry of the three-year validity, what auditors check and do not expect, briefing the employees
- Practice case: presenting an order in the auditPractice case audit: prepare two to three completed orders with all evidence, show the order backwards from invoice to enquiry, complete traceability, a solved complaint as proof
- Procedure in our companyProcedure in our company: roles and deputies in QM, filing location of the QM documents, certification body and audit dates, reporting and complaint channel, own annual planning
- Records and annual dutiesRecords: annual duties with responsibility from quality objectives to management review, retention of records, this certificate as evidence of competence for the QM role under 7.2
Frequently asked questions
Is the training really free?
Yes. No payment details, no trial period. You give your e-mail address only so that the certificate can be delivered.
Does ISO 9001 prescribe a quality manager at all?
No, not any more. Since the 2015 edition clause 5.3 requires top management to assign the QM tasks. Many companies still bundle them with a quality manager — that is permissible, but the responsibility of management remains.
Does the training replace a multi-day quality manager course?
It teaches the core competences for quality manager practice in small and medium-sized companies and provides the documented evidence of competence under clause 7.2. Whoever needs a personnel certification with an examination before a personnel certification body additionally needs a corresponding programme.
Has the course already been converted to ISO 9001:2026?
It covers the 2015 edition in force including the 2024 climate amendment and gives a cautious outlook on the 2026 edition. For the transition in detail there is the separate course “Transition to ISO 9001:2026” in the Academy.
What is on the certificate?
Name, course, date, result, the complete list of the 18 training contents, the normative basis and a certificate number that can be verified via the Academy's verification page.
Which edition is this?
The English-language edition of our German course "QMB-Training", written for readers worldwide; national designations of the standard and national regulations are described in general terms – check the rules of your country. In case of doubt the German edition applies.