How to Choose a First Aid Training Provider

First aid training is one of the few things you buy where you find out whether it was any good at the worst possible moment. Here is how to check beforehand — and what the warning signs look like.

The checklist

Start with what you need, not who you’ll use

The most common mistake is ringing round for quotes before deciding what you are buying. Carry out your first aid needs assessment first: it tells you whether you need EFAW or FAW, roughly how many first aiders, and whether there are specific risks the training should reflect. Without it, you are comparing prices for courses that may not be the right ones.

See how many first aiders does my workplace need? for the method.

Who awards the certificate?

A logo on a website is not accreditation. Ask which awarding organisation the qualification comes from, and whether it is a regulated qualification — recognised by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales or CCEA, with a level, a full title and a qualification number. A certificate carrying only the training company’s name is a certificate of attendance from that company.

Both can represent good training. They are not equally easy to defend when an insurer, a client or an inspector has specifically asked for an accredited qualification. More on this: what “accredited” actually means.

Who is the trainer?

You are not really buying a company; you are buying one person for a day. Reasonable things to ask:

• What are the trainer’s own first aid and teaching qualifications, and are they current?
• What is their practical background — and does it bear any relation to your industry?
• How does the provider keep trainers up to date when guidance changes? The Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Guidelines superseded the 2021 set; a trainer still teaching the old emphasis is a real problem.
• What happens if that trainer is ill on the day?

Group size and practical time

Twelve learners is the standard maximum for practical workplace first aid, and there is a reason for it: hands-on time per person. A provider offering to run 20 people through a course in a day is selling you certificates, not training.

Ask how many manikins and AED trainers will be in the room. Two manikins for twelve people means most of the day is spent watching, and watching does not teach you how hard 5 cm actually is.

Will they come to you?

For a team, on-site delivery saves travel time and cost, and lets the scenarios use your real environment — your machinery, your layout, your risks. For one or two people, open course places will be cheaper. A provider worth using offers both and tells you honestly which is cheaper for your numbers.

Practical things to settle in advance: what space they need, whether there is parking, what time they arrive to set up, and whether they need anything from you.

Do they understand your setting?

Generic training is not wrong, but it is less useful. A provider who asks what your people actually do — before quoting — is going to deliver something more relevant than one who sends a price list by return.

The question to listen for is whether they ask about your hazards. Someone quoting for a first aid course at a foundry without asking a single question about the foundry is not thinking about the training.

What do their customers say?

Independent reviews are more useful than testimonials chosen by the provider. Look on independent review platforms, and ask for references from organisations in your sector. Be wary of any provider whose reviews all arrived in the same week, or whose testimonials have no names or organisations attached.

Is the price real?

Get more than one quote, and check what is included:

• Certificates — included, or charged per learner?
• Manuals and materials
• Travel for on-site delivery
• VAT — quoted inclusive or exclusive
• Non-attendance — can you substitute someone on the day? What if you cancel?
• Re-assessment if someone does not pass first time

The cheapest quote with everything added afterwards is not the cheapest quote.

Red flags

Where to read HSE’s own advice

HSE publishes Selecting a first-aid training provider: a guide for employers (GEIS3), free to download. If you are going through a procurement process, it is the document to work from — and to hand to any provider who queries your questions.

Keep the evidence

Whoever you choose, keep a file: the needs assessment, why you chose that course and that provider, the certificates, and the expiry dates. That file is what answers the question if it is ever asked, and it takes minutes to maintain and hours to reconstruct.

How we’d answer our own checklist

We have been delivering workplace training since 1996, from Bolton, across Greater Manchester and the North West. We use regulated qualifications, cap practical courses at 12, deliver at your premises or as open places, and we will tell you when you need less training than you were expecting.

Deals

First Aid at Work Courses

For the wider picture — what the law requires, the minimum every employer must have, how many first aiders, which course, certificates and the 2024 changes to HSE’s guidance — see our guide to workplace first aid requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Does HSE approve first aid training providers?

No. HSE stopped approving first aid training providers in October 2013. It is now the employer’s responsibility to satisfy themselves that a provider is competent, and HSE publishes a free guide, GEIS3, on how to do that.

What should I ask a first aid training provider?

Which awarding organisation the certificate comes from and whether the qualification is regulated; the individual trainer’s qualifications and how they are kept current; the provider’s quality assurance and complaints arrangements; group sizes and equipment; whether they will deliver on site; and exactly what the price includes.

How many learners should be on a first aid course?

Twelve is the standard maximum for practical workplace first aid. Beyond that there is not enough hands-on time per learner for the practical assessment to mean much.

Is a provider claiming to be HSE approved a warning sign?

Yes. No provider has been HSE approved since October 2013, so the claim is either out of date or misleading. It is worth asking what they mean by it.

Should training be delivered at our premises or at a training centre?

For four or more people, on-site delivery is usually cheaper and more relevant, because it is priced per course and the scenarios can use your own environment. For one or two people, open course places at a venue will cost less.

What is GEIS3?

A free HSE guide called “Selecting a first-aid training provider: a guide for employers”. It sets out what employers should check when choosing a provider, and is the document to work from in a procurement process.

What records should we keep about first aid training?

The needs assessment, the reasoning behind the course and provider you chose, the certificates themselves, and the expiry dates. That file is what answers the question if your arrangements are ever queried.

What if someone cannot attend on the day?

Ask before booking. A reasonable provider will let you substitute another person at short notice; policies on cancellation and re-scheduling vary, and it is much easier to establish beforehand than on the morning.

How do I check a qualification is genuinely regulated?

Look for the awarding organisation’s name, a full qualification title including its level, and a qualification number — then check that number on the regulator’s register of regulated qualifications.

Put us through the checklist

Ask us any of the questions above about our first aid at work courses and we will answer them in writing. Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page.