A records management course trains your administrative, HR and operations staff to organise, store, retrieve and protect organisational records in line with compliance requirements. BOTI’s 2-day programme develops records-management skills that sit within the QCTO Office Administrator occupational qualification (ID 102161) — BOTI is a QCTO Quality Partner — and is delivered in-house, on-site or online across South Africa. Request a quote or a 15-minute callback below.

Course at a Glance

Per-delegate cost drops sharply as you add team members, so booking a full admin or HR team in one cohort is the most cost-effective option. Larger groups and multi-site rollouts can be quoted on request.

Course Overview

Keeping records is often treated as tedious admin — yet it is one of the highest-risk, highest-value functions in any organisation. This two-day course gives your people a comprehensive, practical understanding of records management: how to organise, store and preserve organisational records so they remain compliant, accessible and efficient to work with.

Participants learn to control document flow, manage confidential information, run both physical archives and electronic records systems, and build document-tracking processes that improve everyday workflow. The programme balances record-keeping fundamentals with modern digital practice, so staff can manage paper and electronic records with equal confidence.

Records management underpins POPIA readiness, audit trails, B-BBEE skills-development reporting and day-to-day operational efficiency. When a customer query, an internal audit or a regulator request lands, the difference between a calm response and a scramble is whether your team built a defensible records system. This course gives staff the structure, habits and tools to make retrieval routine and compliance demonstrable.

Planning an in-house cohort? Download our free Records Retention Schedule Template & POPIA Records Checklist to scope your team’s needs — then request a quote or a 15-minute callback to tailor the programme to your systems.

Core Learning Outcomes

On completion, participants will be able to:

• Control and deal with confidential information and documents
• Implement control measures for document management across teams
• Identify and solve office-procedure and coordination issues
• Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information pertaining to the smooth running of an office
• Evaluate ordering and distribution of office stationery and supplies
• Communicate effectively cross-functionally on records management activities

Core Topics Covered

The curriculum spans the full records lifecycle, physical and digital:

• Records management services and organisation
• Archive management and historical record preservation
• Record-keeping fundamentals and compliance
• Document control systems
• Electronic records management (EDMS / electronic document and records management)
• Data management and database administration
• Digital preservation techniques
• Metadata management strategies

Records and Document Management Training: What Your Team Will Master

Effective records and document management training goes beyond filing. It builds a defensible system in which every document has a known owner, location, retention period and disposal date. BOTI’s course equips your staff to design and run that system end to end.

Document control and version management. Participants learn to register, classify, track and version-control documents so the organisation always works from the correct, current copy — and can prove which version was in use, and when.

Physical and digital filing structures. The course covers logical filing taxonomies, indexing and metadata so records can be retrieved in seconds rather than hours, whether they live in a cabinet or a shared drive / EDMS.

Confidentiality and access control. Staff learn to classify records by sensitivity, restrict access appropriately, and handle confidential and personal information responsibly — an essential discipline for organisations subject to POPIA obligations. (This is general guidance; treat specific compliance questions as a matter for your own legal advisers.)

Retention, archiving and disposal. Delegates build retention schedules, manage archives and historical records, and apply safe, auditable disposal — reducing both storage cost and legal exposure.

This sub-topic makes the course directly relevant to HR, finance, legal, operations and front-office teams, not just the records office. It pairs naturally with broader administrative skilling for receptionists and office administrators.

Records vs Document Management: A Quick Comparison

A mature operation needs both — which is why this course covers the full spectrum, from live document control through to long-term records preservation.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for staff and teams responsible for organisational records, including:

• Office administrators and administrative coordinators
• Receptionists and front-office staff who capture and route documents
• HR and L&D personnel managing employee records
• Records, filing and registry clerks
• Operations, finance and project-support staff handling documentation
• Department and ops managers standardising record-keeping across a team

It is equally suited to HR/L&D buyers and business owners arranging skilling for an entire department or branch.

Accreditation

Records management does not have a standalone national qualification of its own. Instead, the records-management skills taught on this course form part of BOTI’s QCTO-accredited Office Administrator occupational qualification (ID 102161) — BOTI is a QCTO Quality Partner. Teams that want a full accredited route can enrol on the Office Administrator qualification, with this two-day programme serving as focused, facilitator-led skilling in the records-management component. Delegates on the standalone course receive a BOTI certificate of completion.

For reference, BOTI is an accredited training provider — Services SETA 12582, MICT SETA ACC/2016/07/0045, and a QCTO Quality Partner.

A quick funding note for HR/L&D buyers: the Skills Development Levy (SDL) is 1% of payroll, while the B-BBEE skills-development element targets spend equivalent to 6% of the leviable amount on the relevant beneficiary categories. Training such as this course is a natural fit when planning your Workplace Skills Plan and skills-development scorecard. We can structure an in-house cohort to align with these objectives — ask about the funded / WSP-aligned training bridge when you request a quote.

Delivery Options

• In-house / on-site: We train at your venue in all major South African city centres — Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban — and surrounding areas.
• Online instructor-led: Live virtual delivery for distributed or remote teams nationwide.
• Public / scheduled: Available on request for smaller groups.

All formats use the same content and facilitators.

Why BOTI

• Accredited South African corporate training provider with 450+ courses delivered nationwide
• Trusted by leading employers including Sasol, Glencore and the City of Johannesburg
• Practical, workplace-ready facilitation tailored to your sector and systems
• Flexible in-house, on-site and online delivery
• Cost-effective group pricing for whole-team upskilling

Related Administration & Secretarial Training

Build a complete skills path for your admin and front-office team:

• Administration, Secretarial & Reception courses — the full cluster of office-administration programmes
• Office Administration training — broader admin competencies that complement records management
• Receptionist & front-office training — for staff who capture and route incoming documents
• Business Writing / Report Writing courses — to strengthen the documents your records system will hold
• Request a quote or book this course — speak to a BOTI training consultant

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the records management course?
The course runs over 2 days. It can be scheduled in-house at your venue or delivered online for remote teams.

Is the records management course accredited?
Records management has no standalone national qualification, so the records-management skills are taught as part of BOTI’s QCTO-accredited Office Administrator occupational qualification (ID 102161) — BOTI is a QCTO Quality Partner. This two-day programme is delivered as focused, facilitator-led skilling in that records-management component; delegates on the standalone course receive a BOTI certificate of completion. For a full accredited route, ask about enrolling on the Office Administrator qualification.

Does it cover both physical and electronic records?
Yes. The curriculum spans archive management and physical record-keeping as well as electronic records management (EDMS), database administration, digital preservation and metadata strategies.

Can the course be delivered in-house or online?
Yes. We deliver on-site at your premises in all major South African city centres and online for distributed teams nationwide, using the same content.

Ready to Upskill Your Records & Admin Team?

Get your administrators, receptionists and operations staff managing documents and records with confidence and compliance.

Request a quote / book a 15-minute callback » — or call BOTI on 011-882-8853.