Where to start?!?!

I am trying to merge multiple data sheets into a single master report with
all required data.

One datasheet comes from a payroll system and the other two from a training
system.

The payroll has ex staff details, manager names,employment dates etc. I use
vlookup against the other training system reports to work out whos no longer
with the company and who they report to etc.

Where it gets interesting is how to work with the two reports from the
training system €“ the first report I draw with a total list of employees. The
second report will only show those employees who have either registered or
completed a training course €“ not those who have not yet launched/started a
course. What I have been doing up to now is matching all the reports
accurately BUT only by a single learning activity( an e-learning course staff
members need to complete) at a time..i use vlookup to basically say if their
name does not appear on the second report (they have not completed or started
a course) then they have not attempted it yet. This is working per individual
learning activity but business requirement is the exact same report with
multiple training activities.

So far thinking it through I have found the following challenges and thought
of a possible solution €“ somehow including in the first report (with the list
of employees) the names of the multiple training activities and then
filtering and using vlookup against the second report that shows completed or
started (and if I get an #N/A I change the status to not attempted) Would
this work or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thanks for all the help from this forum €“ makes a huge difference!!