First aid training courses
Compare accredited first aid courses from St John Ambulance, British Red Cross and St Andrew’s First Aid — EFAW, FAW, requalification, paediatric and mental health first aid. Classroom, on-site and blended, with dates across the UK.
3-year certificate validity
3 leading national providers
Independent course comparison
Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, every employer must provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel so that employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work. What counts as adequate is decided by your first aid needs assessment, not by headcount alone.
Lower-risk sites typically need Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW, one day). Higher-risk environments such as construction and manufacturing usually need the fuller First Aid at Work (FAW, three days), requalified before the certificate expires.
Free toolNot sure how many first aiders you need?
Answer a few questions about your workplace — size, risk level and how you are organised — and our free First Aid Needs Assessment Tool applies the HSE framework to recommend how many first aiders you need and at what level. Printable record included.
Start with the needs assessment, not the course. The Regulations set no number of first aiders. The assessment weighs hazards, headcount, shift patterns, site layout, travel time to hospital and how many sites you run.
Book training against that. Booking first and assessing afterwards is how organisations end up with three EFAW-trained staff on the same shift and none on nights.
Which first aid course do I need?
EFAW, FAW and FAWR are distinct qualifications with different durations and entry points. All are valid for three years.
Emergency First Aid at Work
Lower-hazard workplaces · valid 3 years
CPR, AED use, choking, bleeding control, shock, unconsciousness and the recovery position. The usual level for offices, shops and call centres.
First Aid at Work
Higher-hazard workplaces · valid 3 years
Everything in EFAW plus complex incidents, fractures, spinal and chest injuries, burns and anaphylaxis. Normally identified for construction, manufacturing and warehousing.
FAW Requalification
Book before expiry · valid 3 years
Renews an existing FAW certificate. Must be completed before it expires — once lapsed, requalification is no longer available and the full three-day course must be retaken.
Paediatric First Aid
Childcare & early years
Infant and child CPR, choking, allergic reactions, illness and injury management, in line with EYFS and Ofsted requirements. Relevant to nurseries, schools and sports clubs.
From St John Ambulance or St Andrew’s
Mental Health First Aid
Psychological first aid
Recognising signs of mental ill health, offering initial non-judgemental support and signposting to professional help. HSE guidance has asked employers to consider mental health in the needs assessment since 2018, reinforced in the 2024 update to L74.
E-learning, Workplace First Aider, Workplace Responder, St Andrew’s, Leading
Using an AED including CPR
Defibrillator skills · short course
Practical use of an automated external defibrillator alongside CPR. Worth adding where a workplace has installed an AED — having the device and nobody confident to use it is a common gap.
How many first aiders do we need?
There is no legally fixed number. HSE publishes suggested numbers as a starting point; your own needs assessment decides the actual provision. The suggestions below assume normal working — they are not a ceiling, and not a defence on their own.
| Workplace | HSE suggested provision |
|---|---|
| Low hazard, under 25 | An appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements |
| Low hazard, 25–50 | At least one EFAW-trained first aider |
| Low hazard, over 50 | At least one FAW-trained first aider per 100 employees, or part thereof |
| Higher hazard, under 5 | An appointed person |
| Higher hazard, 5–50 | At least one EFAW or FAW first aider, depending on the injuries that could occur |
| Higher hazard, over 50 | At least one FAW-trained first aider per 50 employees, or part thereof |
The numbers are the easy part. Cover is what gets missed. Provision must be available whenever people are at work — nights, weekends, holidays, sickness and lone working included. One trained first aider is not cover; it is a single point of failure.
Work yours out with the free needs assessment tool, or call 0808 1966 830 to talk it through.
Training providers
All three deliver HSE-compliant qualifications and the certificates carry equal weight. Choose on venue coverage, available dates and format rather than on reputation.
The UK’s largest first aid training provider, with the widest venue coverage and the fullest range of workplace, paediatric and mental health courses.
A recognised standard-setter for workplace first aid and co-author of the UK first aid manual. Focused on the core workplace qualifications.
Scotland
Scotland’s dedicated first aid charity, and the broadest range listed here — including AED and CPR, mental health and moving and handling.
First aid training questions
EFAW or FAW — which does my workplace need?
It comes from the needs assessment rather than headcount alone. EFAW covers immediate life-saving intervention and suits lower-hazard workplaces. FAW adds management of more complex injuries and is normally identified where the work itself could cause them — machinery, chemicals, working at height, vehicles. A large office may need EFAW; a small workshop may need FAW. The free assessment tool works it out in a couple of minutes.
How long is a first aid certificate valid?
EFAW and FAW certificates last three years. Renew before expiry with a requalification or refresher course. Once lapsed, requalification is no longer available and the full three-day FAW must be retaken — two days becomes three, at greater cost and more time off. HSE also strongly recommends an annual skills refresher in between, typically a half day.
Do we need first aid provision for visitors, customers or pupils?
The Regulations do not place a legal duty to provide first aid for non-employees, including members of the public and children in schools. HSE strongly recommends they are included in the needs assessment and that provision is made for them. In practice, a retailer, school or venue that excluded the public from its planning would find that position difficult to defend.
Are mental health first aiders a legal requirement?
No. There is no legal requirement to appoint mental health first aiders, and no change in the law has made that training mandatory. What HSE guidance does ask is that employers take account of employees’ mental health when carrying out the first aid needs assessment — introduced in 2018 and reinforced in the 2024 update to L74. Appointing trained mental health first aiders is one way of responding, and many employers do, but it should follow the assessment rather than precede it.
What is an appointed person?
Someone who takes charge of first aid arrangements — looking after equipment and facilities and calling the emergency services. An appointed person does not need first aid training and is not a first aider. Where the needs assessment identifies that trained first aiders are required, an appointed person is not a substitute.
Which provider should I choose?
All three deliver HSE-compliant EFAW and FAW and the certificates carry equal weight. What differs is venue coverage, available dates, format and on-site options. St John Ambulance has the widest UK coverage; St Andrew’s primarily serves Scotland and carries the broadest additional range. Choose on availability and location rather than certificate value.
Can first aid training be delivered on-site?
Yes, and for groups it usually works out cheaper per head as well as removing travel time. On-site delivery lets the training reference your own layout, equipment and AED location, and training a group together aligns certificate expiry dates — which makes the next renewal round far simpler to plan.
Is Envico a first aid training provider?
No. Envico is an independent training intermediary. We list first aid courses delivered by accredited providers so you can compare dates, locations and value, then book through us. All instruction and certification is delivered by the training provider.
Related training and guidance
Mental health & wellbeing
Fire safety training
Manual handling training
All health & safety courses
On-site group training
Ready to book your first aid course?
Choose a course or provider above to see live dates and locations from accredited training centres across the UK — or work out your requirements first with the free needs assessment.
This page is general guidance and does not replace the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, HSE guidance L74, or your own first aid needs assessment.