Five Good Reasons to Train in First Aid
The honest case for a one-day course: the two skills that actually decide outcomes, why your employer normally pays, and why most people use it at home.
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Quick answer
Five honest reasons to train in first aid: you learn the two skills — CPR and clearing a choking airway — that genuinely decide whether someone lives; your employer usually pays, because most workplaces need qualified first aiders anyway; the skills work at home, where a lot of emergencies actually happen; it removes the freeze that stops most bystanders acting; and it is a recognised qualification, valid for three years, that sits well on a CV. A one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course covers all of it.
Nobody books a first aid course because they are excited about it. Here is the case anyway, without the sentimentality.
1. You learn the two things that actually decide outcomes
Most first aid is comfort and common sense. Two things are not: cardiopulmonary resuscitation and clearing an obstructed airway. In both, the person nearest decides the outcome, because the ambulance cannot get there inside the window that matters.
Even the one-day course covers both properly, with a manikin and an AED trainer. And defibrillators are genuinely easy — the machine talks you through it and will not shock anyone who does not need it. The barrier has never been the device; it is a bystander who does not know it is safe to pick it up.
2. You will probably not be paying
Most employers need qualified first aiders, because the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require adequate and appropriate provision. If your workplace has decided it needs trained first aiders, it needs volunteers — and where training is provided to meet a statutory health and safety duty, section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 means the employer cannot charge you for it. It takes place in working hours, at no cost to you.
So for most people this is a free, recognised qualification and a day away from the usual work. That is not nothing.
3. The skills are not really for work
This is the part employers undersell. A large share of cardiac arrests happen at home, and the people most likely to choke are young children and older adults — which is to say, your family rather than your colleagues.
You are far more likely to use this training for a parent, a grandparent or a child than for someone in your office. Worth knowing if you have young children at home: the techniques differ for infants, and Paediatric First Aid is the course that covers them properly.
4. It removes the freeze
The honest reason bystanders do not help is not indifference. It is the fear of doing the wrong thing and making it worse — so people wait, and waiting is the worst available option.
What training gives you is not encyclopedic knowledge. It is having already done it once: already pushed hard enough on a manikin’s chest to feel how hard that is, already opened an airway, already pressed the button on an AED trainer. That is what makes the difference at the moment when everyone else is looking at each other.
It also settles the question people worry about privately: no, you are not going to be sued for helping. Acting reasonably within your training in an emergency is not a realistic legal risk in the UK, and doing nothing is not the safer option.
5. It stands up on a CV — and it is a real qualification
Emergency First Aid at Work is a workplace qualification valid for three years, not an attendance certificate. In care, education, hospitality, construction, events and retail it is a practical advantage. Everywhere else it still says something about you that is hard to say on your own behalf.
Which course, and what it costs you
| EFAW | FAW | Paediatric First Aid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 1 day | 3 days | 2 days |
| Best for | Most people, most workplaces | Higher-hazard work; lead first aiders | Anyone working with or caring for children |
| Valid | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| Who usually pays | Employer | Employer | Employer, or you if it is for home |
| Cheapest route | Open place if it is just you | Open place if it is just you | Open place if it is just you |
What one day actually covers
- The role of a first aider and the law relating to first aid
- Assessing an incident safely
- The unresponsive casualty, airway and recovery position
- CPR and safe use of a defibrillator
- Choking
- Seizures, shock, bleeding, minor injuries and burns
For a fuller picture of the day itself, see what you learn on a one-day course. For higher-hazard workplaces, or if you will be the lead first aider, see 1 day or 3 days?
How to raise it with your employer
If you want to do this and your workplace has not offered, the argument that works is not “I would like a course”. It is:
- Every employer must make adequate and appropriate first aid provision, decided by a first aid needs assessment
- Provision has to exist when people are actually at work — across shifts, and during leave and sickness
- If the organisation has one first aider, or none, or a certificate about to expire, there is a gap
- You are volunteering to close it
Point them at how many first aiders does my workplace need? — most employers who read it discover they are thinner on cover than they assumed.
Book a place
Deals
First Aid at Work Courses
Emergency First Aid at Work Group Course
£495.00 Excluding Vat
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Emergency First Aid Open Course
£85.00 Excluding Vat
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First Aid at Work Group Course
Price range: £945.00 through £1,145.00 Excluding Vat
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First Aid at Work Open Course
£185.00 Excluding Vat
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First Aid at Work ReQual Open Course
£95.00 Excluding Vat
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Paediatric First Aid Group Course
Price range: £650.00 through £750.00 Excluding Vat
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Paediatric First Aid Open Course
£105.00 Excluding Vat
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One or two people? Open course places are cheaper. A whole team? Group training at your premises is priced per course for up to 12 people.
Frequently asked questions
Emergency First Aid at Work is one day. First Aid at Work is three days. FAW Requalification, for renewing an existing certificate, is two days. All lead to a certificate valid for three years.How long does a first aid course take?
Usually not. Where training is provided to meet a specific statutory health and safety requirement, section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 means the employer cannot charge the employee, and it takes place in working hours.Do I have to pay for my own first aid training?
No. There is no written exam to dread — assessment is practical and continuous, and the trainer’s job is to get you there. Most people find the hardest part is realising how firmly you actually have to press during CPR.Is first aid training difficult?
CPR is physically demanding and is practised on the floor, so tell the provider in advance about anything that might affect you — a back or knee problem, pregnancy, limited mobility. Adjustments can usually be made.Do I need to be fit to do a first aid course?
Yes. An AED gives spoken instructions and will not deliver a shock unless it detects a shockable rhythm. Training matters because people who have handled one are far more likely to actually fetch it and use it under pressure.Can I use a defibrillator without training?
Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work are the standard workplace first aid qualifications in Great Britain and are recognised as such. Check with a prospective employer whether their needs assessment calls for EFAW or the fuller FAW.Will the qualification be recognised by my employer?
It is not a realistic concern for someone acting reasonably and within their training in an emergency. In practice the greater risk to everyone involved is a bystander who does nothing because they are worried about doing the wrong thing.Can I be sued for giving first aid?
Paediatric First Aid, because techniques for infants and children differ meaningfully from adults — the choking sequence and CPR in particular. Many parents and grandparents book it as an open place for exactly that reason.Which course should I do if I have young children?
Frame it around their duty rather than your interest: every employer must make adequate first aid provision, that provision has to exist across shifts and during leave, and most organisations are thinner on cover than they think. You are volunteering to close the gap.How do I persuade my employer to fund it?
Book, or ask us anything first
Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page.
If any of that lands, our first aid at work courses run as open places and as group training on your premises. What your workplace is actually required to provide is set out in workplace first aid requirements.
Book this training for your team
At your own premises across Greater Manchester and the North West, open course places in Bolton, or online.