Someone on the team has said the first aid course is three days, and now you are trying to work out whether that is what you need to book. It is not the emergency first aid at work course.
In Short
- There is no three day emergency first aid at work course; EFAW is one day, about six hours.
- EFAW takes up to 12 delegates and the certificate is valid for three years.
- The three day course is First Aid at Work, a separate and wider qualification.
- Your first aid needs assessment decides which of the two your workplace requires.
- Blended delivery keeps the same one day, six hour compliance with theory completed online.
- Training runs at your own premises, with paediatric content included at no extra cost.
Whether you need emergency first aid at work or emergency first aid at work services Milton Keynes, we cover the whole area, with in-house trainers led by Rebecca Sullivan, over 50 years of combined experience between them, and FAIB accreditation on our first aid courses.
Call 07771 680794 to talk through what your workplace actually needs.
Is there a 3-day emergency first aid at work course available?
No. Emergency first aid at work is a one day course of about six hours, and there is no three day version of it. The three day format belongs to the fuller First Aid at Work qualification, which is a separate course with a wider syllabus.
Tell Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training how many staff you need certified and we will confirm whether EFAW or the fuller three day qualification fits your site.
The one day format is what EFAW is built to be
If you have been on site long enough, you will have heard someone say the first aid course is three days. That is usually a memory of the old First Aid at Work ticket, or a mix-up between the two courses. Emergency first aid at work is deliberately shorter. It is written to get a named first aider on the floor quickly, cover the emergencies that actually happen at work, and put them back on the tools the next morning.
The practical shape of it is simple. One day, roughly six hours of contact time, up to 12 delegates, and a certificate valid for three years. That structure is not something a provider trims to suit a diary. It is the format the qualification is set at, and stretching it across three days would not make it a different, better EFAW. It would just be three days of your crew off the job.
Whether you need emergency first aid at work or emergency first aid at work in Reading, we cover the whole area, and the format is identical wherever the training happens because the qualification is the same everywhere.
What you get inside that day is the material that matters when someone goes down: an unresponsive casualty, CPR and defibrillator use, choking, serious bleeding, shock, burns, and how to run the scene until the ambulance arrives. It is drilled rather than lectured. Nobody sits through six hours of slides.
Three days means First Aid at Work, and that is a different decision
The three day course people are thinking of is First Aid at Work, the fuller qualification. It covers everything EFAW covers and then adds the injuries and illnesses that need more time on the mat: fractures and spinal injury, head injuries, chest pain, stroke, asthma, diabetic emergencies, anaphylaxis and severe allergic reaction, eye and chemical injuries.
Which one your workplace needs comes down to your first aid needs assessment, not to a preference for a longer or shorter course. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets out that the level of first aid provision follows the risk in your workplace, the number of people on site, how spread out they are and what the work involves. A small low risk office is a very different assessment from a joinery shop with saws running or a groundworks gang split across two compounds.
Plenty of firms run a sensible mix: a full First Aid at Work first aider as the backbone, with several EFAW trained people so there is always cover on lates, on holidays and when the van is out. That is a decision about resilience rather than paperwork.
Whether you need emergency first aid at work or emergency first aid at work in Windsor, we cover the whole area, and we will talk the options through honestly rather than selling you the longer course by default.
Blended delivery is the option if losing a full day hurts
If the real problem behind the three day question is time, there is a better answer than stretching the course. EFAW can be delivered blended: the theory is completed online in your team's own time, and the practical session runs at your premises. The compliance position does not change. It remains a one day course of about six hours, up to 12 delegates, with a three year certificate, and it is accredited the same way.
For a working crew that can be the difference between training happening this month and training slipping to next quarter. The online element can be knocked off in the evening or on a quiet afternoon, and the hands-on part still gets done properly, in person, with the manikins and the trainer watching what your people's hands are doing.
All of our emergency first aid at work services are delivered by trainers who work in-house. We do not outsource sessions to whoever happens to be free, and Rebecca leads that team, so the standard you get in the first session is the standard you get in the fifth. Between them our trainers hold over 50 years of combined experience, and our first aid courses are accredited by FAIB. Our mental health courses are accredited separately by FAA.
Training takes place at your own premises. That keeps travel out of the day, lets us use your layout, your kit and your genuine hazards as the backdrop, and means the scenarios your team practises look like the place they actually work in.
Booking it around a working week
Because it is one day and capped at 12 delegates, EFAW usually fits into a working week without wrecking it. Most employers put it on a quieter day, run one group, and keep the rest of the operation moving. If you have more than 12 people to certify, that becomes two sessions rather than one long course, and we will work the dates around your workload rather than the other way round.
A few things worth having ready before you call:
- How many people you need trained, and whether that number is over 12.
- Whether your needs assessment points to EFAW, the fuller First Aid at Work qualification, or both.
- A room at your premises with enough clear floor space for CPR practice.
- Whether blended delivery would suit your staff better than a full classroom day.
- When existing certificates expire, so nobody drops out of date.
Our EFAW course also includes paediatric content at no extra cost, which is useful for workplaces with children on site or staff who coach, foster or run family facing services. It is part of the day, not an add-on.
Aim2Aid Ltd is a registered company, number 16319053, and you can read what employers have said about the training through our reviews widget rather than taking our word for it. If you are still weighing three days against one, ring us and describe your workplace. It is a five minute conversation and it will settle the question for your business, for your staff and for your workplace.
Tell Aim2Aid First Aid and Fire Safety Training how many staff you need certified and we will confirm whether EFAW or the fuller three day qualification fits your site.