ISO 9001:2026 training courses in the Philippines: awareness, transition, internal auditor and lead auditor

Written from the ISO 9001:2026 standard (sixth edition, published 16 September 2026). Reviewed by Kaushal Sutaria, Lead Auditor, Sterling International Consulting.

Sterling International Consulting runs four ISO 9001:2026 courses in the Philippines: a one-day awareness course for everyone inside the QMS scope, with a half-day briefing for top management; a one-day transition course for the people updating the system; a two-day internal auditor course; and a five-day, 40-hour lead auditor course. All four are taught on the ISO 9001:2026 standard, published on 16 September 2026, by local Filipino lead auditors: public in Makati, Cebu and Davao, in-house, or online and hybrid. Each ends with a certificate of training, not a certification. Dates are published on the training page and on request.

Which ISO 9001:2026 course should each person attend?

Match the course to the person’s role in the transition, not their grade. Everyone inside the QMS scope needs awareness, because 7.3 e) now expects awareness of the organisational quality culture and ethical behaviour. The people rewriting documents need the transition course; those who will audit against the 2026 criteria need the internal auditor course; the lead auditor course is for those who will lead audits.

Course	Who attends	Duration	Formats	Certificate
Awareness	All staff within the QMS scope; half-day briefing for top management	One day (half day for the briefing)	In-house, online, hybrid	Certificate of training (attendance)
Transition	Quality manager and QMS team, process owners, document controllers, the ISMS or EMS manager, existing internal auditors	One day	Public (Makati, Cebu, Davao), in-house, online	Certificate of training (attendance)
Internal auditor	Staff who will audit the QMS against the 2026 criteria; process owners joining the audit pool	Two days	Public, in-house, online, hybrid	Certificate of training with examination result
Lead auditor	Quality managers, consultants, certification-body staff, people building an auditing career, auditors leading supplier audits	Five days, 40 hours	Public, in-house, hybrid	Certificate of training with examination result

Awareness course: one day, or a half-day briefing for top management

The awareness course gives every employee inside the QMS scope what an auditor tests in a floor interview: what the quality policy and objectives mean for their job, what the ISO 9001:2026 changes ask of them, and what quality culture and ethical behaviour look like on their shift. Top management takes a half-day briefing on 5.1.1 i) and k) and the new management review inputs.

Session	Content	Clauses
1. What changed on 16 September 2026, and your part in the system	The sixth edition, what it cancels and replaces, the transition ending 30 September 2029; the policy, the objectives, your process, what nonconforming output is and how to report it	7.3; 10.2
2. Quality culture and ethical behaviour	The standard’s phrase and its NOTE 2 reading (shared values, attitudes, practices and actions); Philippine examples: shift handovers, supplier gifts, overtime pressure, reporting nonconforming output	5.1.1 i); 7.3 e)
3. Risks, opportunities, change and the interview	Raising a risk, an opportunity or an improvement; how changes are communicated; practice answers by level	6.1.2; 6.1.3; 6.3 e); 10.1

Transition course: one day for the people updating the system

The transition course walks every ISO 9001:2026 change clause by clause, shows the evidence each one needs and ends with the delegates’ own gap list. Delegates leave with a marked-up map of their documents against the new and strengthened requirements and a draft 6.3 change record for the transition.

Session	Content	Clauses
1. The 2026 edition	Clauses 1 to 10 unchanged in title and order; 6.1 split into 6.1.1, 6.1.2 and 6.1.3; Clause 10 with only 10.1 and 10.2; Annex A rewritten and informative, Annex B removed	Clause 3; Annex A
2. New items and strengthened wordings	New: 4.2 c); 5.1.1 i); 6.3 e), f), g); 7.3 e); 9.3.2 c); sub-clause 6.1.3. Strengthened: 5.1.1 k); 5.2.1 e); 5.2.2 d); 5.3 e); 6.1.2; 6.3 c); 7.1.6; 8.2.1 e); 9.1.3 e), f); 9.3.2 g), h); 10.1	As listed
3. Documented information, climate change and the NOTEs	No new mandatory documents or records, explained in Annex A.2 e); what to update in Effivity or your document control; the 4.1 climate determination and 4.2 NOTE; NOTEs on remote and hybrid work, culture, customer communication channels, iterative design and complaints	Annex A.2 e); 4.1; 4.2; 7.1.3; 7.1.4; 8.2.1; 8.3.1; 8.3.3; 10.2.1
4. Workshop	The delegates’ gap list and the 6.3 a) to g) record with the transition as the change	6.3

Internal auditor course: two days

The internal auditor course produces auditors who can plan, conduct and report an internal audit against the ISO 9001:2026 criteria before the certification body’s transition audit. Day one covers the requirements with the 2026 changes and the audit method; day two is practical and closes with a written examination. Clause 9.2 is unchanged in substance, so the method carries over; the criteria do not.

Day	Sessions	References
Day 1	ISO 9001:2026 requirements by clause with every change marked; the process approach; risk-based and opportunity-based thinking; audit principles and the audit programme under ISO 19011:2018; re-basing the programme on the 2026 criteria; planning and checklists	Clauses 4 to 10; 5.1.1 k); 9.2; ISO 19011:2018
Day 2	Opening meeting, interviews by level, sampling, objective evidence; the new questions on 4.2 c), 5.1.1 i), 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.3 a) to g), 7.3 e), 9.1.3 e), f), 9.3.2 c), g), h); writing nonconformities against the 2026 clause numbers; reporting; recording the audit as evidence for the transition audit; examination	As listed; 10.2

Lead auditor course on the 2026 edition: five days, 40 hours

The lead auditor course is the full five-day, 40-hour programme: ISO 9001:2026 requirements in depth, auditing to ISO 19011:2018 and the third-party certification setting of ISO/IEC 17021-1, then leading an audit team through a complete audit cycle in role play, from audit plan to closing meeting and follow-up, ending with a written examination.

Days	Content
Days 1 and 2	ISO 9001:2026 clause by clause, including every 2026 change; the certification cycle; ISO 19011:2018 principles; what ISO/IEC 17021-1 requires of a certification body, including audit time and the transition audit; audit programme and plan
Days 3 and 4	Conducting the audit: opening meeting, interviewing at every level, sampling, objective evidence; auditing 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.3, 5.1.1 i) and 7.3 e); nonconformities graded and worded against the 2026 clause numbers, corrective action and verification; reporting; closing meeting; leading a team
Day 5	Full role-play audit led by each delegate; written examination

Public, in-house, or online and hybrid: which format fits

Public courses suit one to three delegates from an organisation, alongside people from other sectors. In-house courses suit a whole team or site and use your own documents as case material. Online and hybrid delivery suits multi-site groups and remote staff; practical sessions run in breakout groups and examinations are supervised. Every format is taught by the same local Filipino lead auditors.

Format	Best for	How it runs
Public	One to three delegates; individuals building an auditing career	Makati, Cebu and Davao on the training calendar; dates on the training page and on request
In-house	A department, a site or the whole QMS team; integrated QMS and ISMS or EMS teams	At your site, on your dates; case work on your own procedures and registers
Online and hybrid	Multi-site groups, home-based staff, teams spread across the regions	Live sessions by video with breakout exercises; hybrid mixes a classroom group with remote delegates; supervised examinations

Class cases come from engagements that Sterling’s local Filipino lead auditors have led: Mark Santos in Metro Manila, Zia Bautista in Cebu, Ann Reyes in Davao.

When to schedule ISO 9001:2026 training in the transition

Train early, in the order the evidence is needed. Quality culture and ethical behaviour (5.1.1 i), 7.3 e)) is the one change that needs elapsed time behind it, so awareness comes first. The transition course belongs at the planning stage, the internal auditor course before the internal audit that precedes the transition audit, and refresher awareness before the certification body’s visit.

The frame is Global ACI’s: a three-year transition ending 30 September 2029; accreditation-body decisions on certification bodies complete by 30 September 2027, which is why the first accredited ISO 9001:2026 certificates arrive during 2027; and, from 31 March 2028, no new certification except to the 2026 edition.

Phase	Course	Why then	Evidence created
Gap check, gap report and plan (take the free ISO 9001:2026 gap check first)	Half-day top management briefing; transition course for the QMS team and process owners	Top management owns 5.1.1 i) and k) and the new 9.3.2 inputs; the rewriting team needs the changes at clause level	Briefing record; management review minutes; the delegates’ gap list; the 6.3 a) to g) record
Document update and roll-out	Awareness for all staff within scope, on the floor and remote	7.3 e) evidence with dated attendance; the earlier it runs, the more elapsed time before the audit	Attendance records; dated communications
Before the internal audit against the 2026 criteria	Internal auditor course	The criteria and checklist are new; the internal audit report against the 2026 clauses is an early read for the certification body	Trained auditor list; audit report citing the 2026 clauses
Before the transition audit, and after it	Awareness refresher for interviewees; lead auditor course for those who will lead supplier audits	The transition audit reviews the changed requirements, changes in context and any other changes; answers must hold	Refresher records; certificate with examination result

What the certificate of training is, and what it is not

Every delegate receives a certificate of training issued by Sterling International Consulting; for the internal auditor and lead auditor courses it records the examination result. It is evidence of competence for your records under 7.2. It is not an ISO certificate and not a certification of the person or the organisation. Sterling does not certify organisations; accredited certification bodies do.

Training does not make anyone an approved auditor for a certification body, which appoints its own auditors under ISO/IEC 17021-1. And no organisation holds an ISO 9001:2026 certificate yet: accredited 2026 certificates come only from bodies whose accreditation has been extended, during 2027.

Book ISO 9001:2026 training

Public dates for Makati, Cebu and Davao are published on the internal auditor and lead auditor training page and on request. For an in-house or online course, send the number of delegates, the site and the course, and a local Filipino lead auditor will propose dates and an outline built on your procedures. Book training or a free consultation, call +63 977 815 1204 or email info@iso-certification.ph.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Sterling certificate of training an ISO certification? No. It records attendance and, for the internal auditor and lead auditor courses, the examination result. ISO certification applies to an organisation’s management system and is granted by an accredited certification body after an audit. No delegate should describe themselves or their employer as certified on the strength of it.

Do all our employees need ISO 9001:2026 training? Everyone inside the QMS scope needs awareness in some form, because 7.3 e) expects awareness of the organisational quality culture and ethical behaviour and the auditor tests it by interviewing people at every level. The form can vary: a one-day course for supervisors and process owners, or a shorter session cascaded by trained team leaders.

Can our existing internal auditors keep auditing without retraining? They can, and 9.2 is unchanged in substance, but the criteria have changed, and an audit run on the 2015 checklist will not show that the changed requirements have been audited. At minimum, existing auditors take the transition course and rebuild their checklists on the 2026 clauses.

Is the lead auditor course registered with a personnel certification scheme? It is a Sterling-delivered course of five days and 40 hours with a written examination, and the certificate is a certificate of training. If a client, a tender or your certification body requires a course registered with a particular personnel certification scheme, tell us when you enquire and we will confirm in writing what applies.

Do the courses cover ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 45001 as well? Yes. The internal auditor and lead auditor courses also run on ISO 14001:2026 (published 15 April 2026; transition ends 30 April 2029) and on ISO 45001:2018, and as integrated courses for QHSE teams. The ISO 45001 revision is at ballot with publication expected in 2027, so it is taught on the 2018 edition until then.

When are the next dates and how much do the courses cost? Public dates for Makati, Cebu and Davao are published on the training page and on request, not printed here, because the calendar changes. Fees depend on the course, the format and the number of delegates and are quoted in a written proposal. Send the course, the site and the head count for dates and a proposal.

Read next

Book through the training page, or see how training sits inside the Sterling Revise™ transition service and the twelve-step migration plan. Auditors should read rebuilding the internal audit checklist; HR and top management should read quality culture and ethical behaviour evidence. For the reference view, see ISO 9001:2026 training on iso-philippines.com.

Sources

• ISO 9001:2026, Quality management systems — Requirements, sixth edition, published 16 September 2026: Clause 3; clauses 4.1, 4.2 c) and NOTE, 5.1.1 i) and k), 5.2.1 e), 5.2.2 d), 5.3 e), 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.3 a) to g), 7.1.3 NOTE, 7.1.4 NOTE, 7.1.6, 7.2, 7.3 e), 8.2.1 e) and NOTE, 8.3.1 and 8.3.3 NOTEs, 9.1.3 e) and f), 9.2, 9.3.2 c), g) and h), 10.1, 10.2 and the 10.2.1 NOTE; Annex A.2 e). https://www.iso.org/standard/9001
• Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-09-30 (M), Transition Requirements for ISO 9001:2026, version 1.0, issued 4 September 2026, published 16 September 2026 (global-aci.org).
• Global ACI-TECH-3-TR 2029-04-30 (M), Transition Requirements for ISO 14001:2026, published 14 September 2026; ISO 14001:2026 (fourth edition), published 15 April 2026.
• ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use; revision at ballot, publication expected 2027.
• ISO 19011:2018, Guidelines for auditing management systems.
• ISO/IEC 17021-1, Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems — Part 1: Requirements.
• Sterling International Consulting, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 internal auditor and lead auditor training in the Philippines (five days, 40 hours; public and in-house delivery; certificate issued on passing the examination), https://iso-certification.ph/iso-9001-iso-14001-iso-45001-internal-auditor-lead-auditor-training-in-the-philippines/
• No Philippine regulation is cited on this page.