The present Safety Guide makes recommendations concerning the building of competence in protection and safety within a national radiation protection infrastructure, and provides guidance for setting up the structure for a national strategy. It relates to the training and assessment of qualification of new personnel and the retraining of existing personnel in order to develop and maintain appropriate levels of competence and provides the guidance necessary to meet the requirements as laid down in Safety Series No. 115, International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (1996).