AS9100 doesn’t require you to buy a training course — it requires competent people. Here’s how to figure out the most efficient path to get there
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AS9100 Doesn’t Require a Training Course. It Requires Competent People.
Nearly every training provider will tell you their course is essential. Here’s what the standard itself actually requires: it doesn’t name BSI, ISOQAR, or anyone else. It requires that your internal auditors be competent — genuinely capable of planning, conducting, and reporting an effective audit against AS9100.
That leaves you with a real question, not a marketing one: is formal BSI AS9100 training the most efficient way for your shop to establish that competence, or is there a faster, cheaper path that gets you there just as well?
This isn’t a promotional writeup for BSI’s course catalog. It’s a decision framework for figuring out which path fits where your shop actually stands — and what that path costs.
From the Floor: I’ve sat in on the decision more than once — which employees get sent to formal standards training and which get handed the standard and told to figure it out. The pattern I’ve seen holds regardless of which standard is involved: the people who come back and actually change how audits get run aren’t the ones who sat through the most polished course. They’re the ones who used the class time to work through their own facility’s real nonconformances instead of generic case studies. That’s the filter I’d apply before signing off on any training spend — including this one.
If you haven’t run a gap assessment against AS9100 Rev D yet, that’s the decision that should come before a training decision — not after. Operations managers who evaluate training before understanding their QMS gaps may be solving the wrong problem first.
👉 Before you spend a dime on training, find out exactly where your QMS stands. Run the AS9100 Rev D Gap Assessment Checklist — a 74-item, 12-section clause-by-clause tool that shows you precisely which sections need work before you decide who needs training and in what format.
In This Guide:
- What BSI’s AS9100 training actually covers, course by course
- The honest pros and cons of BSI’s training — and how it compares to other providers
- What it costs — and how BSI’s pricing model actually works
- A decision framework: which competence-building path fits your shop
- A cost comparison: formal training vs. experience-based routes vs. skipping it
- What training actually establishes, and where it doesn’t help
- FAQ: certificates, recertification, and whether training is technically required
Table of Contents
👉 Start Here: Where to Look Into AS9100 Training
If your shop is evaluating formal AS9100 training, BSI Group is one of the established providers worth comparing against — its AS9100 training portfolio covers requirements training, internal auditor training, and lead auditor training. Review BSI’s AS9100 training course options.
If you haven’t bought a current copy of the standard yet, check whether the current course fee includes a copy of the applicable standard. If it doesn’t, budget separately for your copy before class starts. Purchase the current AS9100/SAE standard through ANSI Webstore.
What BSI’s AS9100 Training Actually Covers
BSI’s AS9100 training isn’t a single course — it’s a track, and small manufacturers tend to only need the first one or two levels of it.
The entry-level course covers the AS9100 Rev D requirements themselves: what each clause demands, how the aerospace-specific additions build on the ISO 9001 foundation, and how the standard maps to your existing documentation. This is the right starting point if your team understands ISO 9001 already but has never worked with the aerospace-specific clauses — configuration management, first article inspection, counterfeit parts controls, and the rest.
The internal auditor course goes a step further. It’s built around conducting audits against AS9100 and AS9101, and it typically runs as a multi-day, instructor-led format — in person or live online — with practical audit exercises rather than lecture alone. This is the course that matters most if you’re planning to run your own internal audit program instead of outsourcing every internal audit to a consultant.
Beyond that sits lead auditor training, which is usually more than a small shop needs unless someone is being developed to lead aerospace audits or pursue auditing professionally.
If you are new to AS9100 and still building your quality management system → start with the requirements-level course, not internal auditor training. You can’t audit effectively against clauses your team doesn’t understand yet.
Pros and Cons of BSI AS9100 Training
What BSI Does Well
- Established global training and certification organization with a broad aerospace training portfolio
- Full AS9100 course catalog spanning requirements, internal auditor, and lead auditor levels
- Both live online and in-person delivery formats available
- Course completion certificates from an established training provider
- In-house delivery available for training multiple employees at once
Potential Drawbacks
- Pricing isn’t published upfront for most course types — expect to go through a quote request
- May run higher than some smaller or regional training providers, depending on format and group size
- Course value depends heavily on where your team already stands — a requirements-level course won’t add much for an already-experienced auditor, and an internal auditor course won’t help a team with no prior standard familiarity
- Small shops adding AS9100 to an existing ISO 9001 program may only need the requirements-level course, not BSI’s full auditor track
How BSI Compares to Other AS9100 Training Providers
BSI isn’t the only organization offering AS9100 training. Smaller, regional, and boutique training providers also run AS9100 requirements and internal auditor courses, and sometimes at a lower per-seat cost than a multi-national provider like BSI. A provider with an established aerospace training portfolio may offer a familiarity advantage, but don’t assume the provider’s name substitutes for demonstrated auditor competence.
If you’re comparing multiple providers, weigh course content and instructor experience against price alone. An aerospace-specific internal auditor course taught by an instructor with real AS9100 audit experience is worth more than a generic quality-auditing course relabeled for aerospace. Ask any provider — BSI included — how their course specifically addresses the AS9100-unique clauses (configuration management, counterfeit parts, first article inspection) rather than treating AS9100 as ISO 9001 with an extra chapter.
What It Costs — and How BSI’s Pricing Model Works
This is the part that frustrates small manufacturers the most: BSI’s course pages typically direct buyers toward public-course enrollment for individual seats and a separate quote process for private or in-house training, so pricing can vary by course, delivery format, and group size rather than sitting on a single published price list.
That’s not unusual for the industry, and it also means published cost figures age fast. A rough, non-exhaustive comparison across a few established AS9100 training providers suggests 2-day internal auditor courses can run anywhere from roughly $1,000 to $1,600+ per seat depending on provider, country, and delivery format — treat this as an illustrative snapshot rather than a sourced market rate, and confirm current pricing directly with the provider before budgeting.
A practical consideration: shops training more than one or two people are generally better served requesting an in-house quote for the whole quality team rather than booking individual seats one at a time — it’s worth comparing against per-seat pricing, and it often means the session gets built around your actual facility’s documentation instead of a generic case study.
Two things push the real cost higher than the course fee alone:
- Check whether the standard itself is included. Course fees don’t always cover it — if it isn’t, budget separately for your copy.
- Travel and time away from the floor add up fast for in-person formats — live online delivery can be a practical choice for smaller shops trying to control the total cost.
If your facility hasn’t priced out the full certification path yet — training, gap assessment, documentation, audit fees — that’s worth doing before training in isolation. See the full breakdown of what AS9100 certification actually costs.
Formal Training vs. Alternatives: A Straight Comparison
| Approach | What You Get | Best For | Typical Cost Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSI formal training (requirements or internal auditor course) | Structured instruction, practical audit exercises, recognized course certificate | Shops building an internal audit program from scratch or preparing for first-time AS9100 certification | Varies by provider, format, country, and group size — confirm current pricing directly before budgeting |
| Experience-based route (auditor learns on the job, under an existing certified internal auditor) | Practical familiarity, no course fee | Shops that already have at least one AS9100-experienced auditor on staff to mentor others | Time cost only — no direct training fee |
| Documentation kit + self-study (no formal course) | Templates and structure, but does not by itself establish internal-auditor competence | Shops still in the early documentation-build phase, not yet auditing | Cost of the documentation kit only |
If you are preparing for your first AS9100 certification and have no one on staff with prior aerospace QMS audit experience → formal training is one of the strongest ways to build and demonstrate the required auditor competence. Self-study can contribute to that competence, but you’ll need a defensible way to show your internal auditor is capable of planning and conducting effective audits.
If you are already ISO 9001 certified and simply adding the AS9100-specific clauses → your existing internal auditors may only need requirements-level training rather than repeating a full internal auditor course.
The Real Question: What’s the Most Efficient Path to Auditor Competence?
Not every shop needs the same answer. Where you land depends on what competence you already have on staff — not on whether training is generically “a good idea.”
No aerospace experience and no internal audit experience on staff → Formal training is highly valuable here. This is the shop with the least existing competence to draw on, and a structured course is one of the more direct and defensible ways to build it.
Strong QMS experience and already-trained internal auditors, but new to aerospace → Requirements-level training is often the better starting point, not a full internal auditor course. Your team already knows how to audit — they need the aerospace-specific clause knowledge, not a repeat of general auditing fundamentals.
An experienced aerospace auditor already on staff → You may not need to send everyone through the same course. That person can mentor others through the aerospace-specific requirements, and only newer team members may need formal training.
Multiple employees need the same training → Compare public-seat pricing against in-house delivery before booking. In-house sessions built around your own facility’s documentation are often the more efficient option once you’re training more than one or two people.
No mature QMS yet → A gap assessment and requirements-level understanding should come before loading anyone into auditor training. Sending a team through internal auditor training before the documentation exists may mean teaching them to audit against requirements you haven’t fully built out yet.
⚠️ Common mistake: sending a single employee to lead auditor training as a first step, before the shop has even completed its documentation. That course assumes working familiarity with the standard already in place — it’s the wrong entry point for a shop still building its QMS.
The ROI Question: What Training Actually Establishes
Training helps establish auditor competence — it doesn’t replace the underlying requirement to actually demonstrate that competence. That distinction matters more than the sales pitch usually lets on: an internal auditor doesn’t need a specific course, they need to be genuinely capable of planning and conducting an effective audit, however they got there.
Where training earns its cost is in areas like configuration management, counterfeit parts controls, and first article inspection — areas where generic ISO 9001 knowledge may not transfer cleanly to aerospace-specific requirements. An internal auditor who’s never been walked through these clauses in a structured setting is more likely to miss a gap during their own internal audit, which means the external auditor finds it first.
That said, training doesn’t fix a documentation problem. If your procedures don’t exist yet, sending someone to auditor training won’t create them — it just teaches someone how to audit against requirements you haven’t built out. For many first-time shops, the practical sequence is gap assessment, initial QMS documentation development, targeted training, then internal audits. Requirements-level training can make sense earlier; internal auditor training becomes more valuable once there’s an actual system to audit.
👉 Not sure if your documentation is even ready for an internal auditor to work against? Run the AS9100 Rev D Gap Assessment Checklist first — it takes less than an hour and tells you exactly which of the 12 major sections still need work.
✅ Quick Checklist: Is Your Shop Ready to Book Training?
- ✅ Your AS9100-specific documentation is drafted, even if not finalized
- ✅ You’ve identified who will actually conduct internal audits going forward
- ✅ You know whether you need requirements-level training, internal auditor training, or both
- ✅ You’ve priced in-house/group rates against individual seat pricing for your team size
- ✅ You’ve budgeted separately for the standard itself, since course fees typically don’t include it
- ⚠️ If you can’t check the first two boxes, reconsider booking internal auditor training yet — the timing may be premature
FAQ
Is AS9100 training legally required for certification?
No. AS9100 does not prescribe a specific training provider or course for internal auditors. The organization is responsible for ensuring its auditors are competent to perform effective audits, and IAQG does not specify a particular 9100-series training course as mandatory. Formal training is one common way small shops establish and document that competence, but it isn’t the only path if you already have qualified aerospace audit experience in-house.
How long does BSI’s AS9100 internal auditor course take?
Multi-day formats are standard across the industry for this course level, typically delivered across two to three consecutive days, whether in person or through live online instruction. Confirm current course length and format directly with BSI, since schedules and formats are updated periodically.
Does the training include a copy of the AS9100 standard?
Course inclusions vary by provider and delivery format. Confirm directly with BSI whether the applicable standard is included before enrolling — if not, budget separately for a current copy.
Can one person get trained and cover the whole shop’s internal audit needs?
For a very small operation, one competent internal auditor may be enough, provided the audit program can maintain appropriate objectivity and coverage — auditors generally shouldn’t audit their own work or processes they’re directly responsible for. Larger shops or those with multiple product lines often train two or more people so audits aren’t bottlenecked by one person’s schedule or independence limits.
Is virtual training as effective as in-person for AS9100?
For the requirements-level course, virtual formats work well. For internal auditor training, in-person formats offer more natural opportunities for hands-on practice exercises, though live online formats with interactive workshops are a reasonable substitute if travel cost or time away from the floor is the deciding factor.
Does BSI training count toward recertification of an existing auditor?
Course-to-course requirements vary by prior certification and course provider. If your auditor already holds a credential from a different accredited provider, confirm directly with BSI whether their program requires a re-sit or a full course before enrolling.
What’s the difference between BSI’s requirements course and internal auditor course?
The requirements course teaches what the standard demands, clause by clause. The internal auditor course teaches how to plan, conduct, and report an audit against those requirements — it assumes the requirements-level knowledge already exists.
Is ISOQAR an alternative for AS9100 training?
No — as of publication, ISOQAR does not offer AS9100-specific training courses. For AS9100 training specifically, BSI is the option covered in this review; confirm current course catalogs directly with any provider before enrolling, since offerings can change over time.
📥 Free Resources
- ISO 9001 Roadmap — step-by-step implementation guide for manufacturers building or improving a quality management system
- Manufacturing Compliance Checklist — practical compliance reference covering key ISO, OSHA, and quality requirements for production environments
- Supplier Quality Checklist — evaluation tool for assessing supplier quality controls and flow-down compliance before audits or new contracts
- ISO 13485 Gap Assessment Checklist — free checklist for medical device manufacturers assessing their QMS against ISO 13485 requirements
- AS9100 Rev D Gap Assessment Checklist — 74-item clause-by-clause checklist for aerospace suppliers assessing their QMS before certification
Not Sure What to Do Next?
🔹 Still researching whether formal training makes sense for your shop? Start with the AS9100 Rev D Gap Assessment Checklist to see exactly where your QMS stands before you commit a training budget.
🔹 Ready to move forward with a specific course? Compare BSI’s current AS9100 training course options and request an in-house quote if you’re training more than one person.
🔹 Need the standard itself before class starts? Buy the current AS9100/SAE standard through ANSI Webstore.
🔹 Still deciding on a certification body altogether? See how the major players stack up in AS9100 Certification Bodies — Ranked & Reviewed.
Training is one line item in a much bigger certification budget, and it’s only worth spending on once the rest of your QMS groundwork is in place. Get the sequence right, and training becomes the thing that keeps an auditor from finding a gap your own team should have caught first. At The Standards Navigator, that’s the entire point — clear, practitioner-level guidance on what actually moves the needle toward certification, without the sales pitch.
Stay Ahead of Aerospace Audit Requirements
A common Stage 1 problem isn’t simply misunderstanding AS9100 — it’s discovering that training, documentation, or internal audit readiness isn’t as mature as the organization assumed.
Shops that treat certification as a sequence — documentation, then training, then internal audits — walk into Stage 1 with far fewer surprises than shops that bolt on training as an afterthought once a customer starts asking questions.
The Standards Navigator covers AS9100 certification, training decisions, and aerospace supplier compliance in plain, practitioner-level language — no fluff, no sales pitch.
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