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When you run a premises which sells or serves alcohol, you are required by law to hold a personal licence of some sort, depending on the nature of the premises and your position in the business. This means that along with the usual health and safety training, you will also need to undergo training in order to get your licence.

Many retail and licensing training courses are available, but it can be tricky to know which you should be undertaking. It becomes particularly complicated where abbreviations for the different qualifications are used. To help make things clearer, here are the main personal licence training qualifications for England and Wales explained (Scottish qualifications will be covered in a later guide).

• NCPLH – The EDI Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders – a qualification for managers and supervisors or anyone in a role which requires them to authorise retail sales of alcohol.
• NDDPS – The EDI Level 3 National Diploma for Designated Premises Supervisors – for anyone who is named the designated premises supervisor in a licensed premises, not just managers.
• AUASP – The EDI Level 2 Award in Underage Sales Prevention – for anyone who is involved in the sale of age-restricted products

In addition to these training courses, there is also a course which deals with drug awareness, a growing issue within the retail and licensing industry. This course is called The EDI Level 2 Award in Drugs Awareness for Licensed Premises Staff, and it is for people at all levels working within retail and licensing businesses.