First Aid course
There are many situations in which first aid training can save lives: After all, there is a reason that many professions require their workforce to have first aid certificates & CPR training, such as police officers, firefighters, flight attendants and even teachers.
Even if your profession doesn't specifically require you to be first aid trained, the qualification can improve your employability: Employers in Australia have an obligation to have first-aid officers available for their workforce.
Generally speaking, workplaces are categorised as low-risk, high risk and remote high risk. Low risk are workplaces such as offices, high risk are construction sites and remote high risk workplaces such as mines.
Low risk environments require one first-aid officer for every 50 workers, high risk environments require one first aid officer per 25 workers, and remote high risk environments require a first aid officer for every 10 employees.
Training package: HLTAID011 - Provide First Aid
The course content is specified by the Australian Skills Quality Authority on the training.gov.au website: HLTAID011 - Provide First Aid.
The unit of competency has been researched, designed and developed by Skills IQ.
Skills IQ is a Skills Service Organisation (SSO) that supports a range of Industry Reference Committees (IRCs) in the undertaking of training product development that ensures that skills meet future industry needs.
They are looking after all the HLTAID training packages, which includes first aid, provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and more.
Course content
Here is a quick overview taken from the training package of the unit of competency:
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to provide a first aid response to a casualty in line with first aid guidelines determined by the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) and other Australian national peak clinical bodies. The unit applies to all persons who may be required to provide a first aid response in a range of situations, including community and workplace settings.
The unit of competency is split into 4 main elements:
- Respond to an emergency situation
- RApply appropriate first aid procedures
- Communicate details of the incident
- Review the incident
The unit is rated AQF level 1. You can read about AQF levels here.
Practical skills
During the workshop, you will be trained to provide CPR on a training mannequin. You will also learn how to use Automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
Certification issued
When completing your first aid course, you will be issued with Statement of Attainments for:
- HLTAID011 - Provide First Aid
- HLTAID010 - Provide basic emergency life support
- HLTAID009 - Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Finding a first aid training provider
You can find the best training providers using this website, which displays price, location, customer reviews and ratings, parking situation etc.
The cost of first aid courses
The cost of completing a first aid course varies between training organisations, but a ballpark figure is between $99 and $160.
CPR courses and refreshers cost between $49 and $99.