First Aid Level 3 Course

Why employers book first aid training

First aid is one of the few kinds of training that a South African employer is required to have in place by a specific number of heads on site. The rule sits in regulation 3 of the General Safety Regulations, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993.

• Where more than five people work at a workplace, the employer must provide a first aid box at or near it.
• Where more than ten people work there, at least one person holding a valid first aid certificate must be readily available during normal working hours, for every group of up to 50 employees — or every group of up to 100 in shops and offices.

Two separate thresholds, and the one that costs money is the second. Five triggers the box; ten triggers the trained person. Plan it around shifts and leave, because “readily available” means on site when someone is hurt, not on a list.

One date matters as well. Since 1 April 2021, a first aid certificate only counts if the training was run against QCTO or SETA-accredited standards. Certificates issued after that date under the older approval system carry no standing, so it is worth checking when your current first aiders were certified and by whom.

Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3?

Fundza runs all three. They are separate courses with separate certificates, and the level you need follows the risk on your site rather than the size of your budget.

Level 3 is the longest and the dearest of the three. Where a site carries higher risk — heavy plant, work at height, remote operations where an ambulance is not minutes away — employers tend to put their designated first aiders through the higher level and keep Level 1 as the broad base across the workforce.

If you are choosing for a whole team rather than one person, the first aid courses page compares all three side by side.

Fees, duration and the certificate

Fees on this site include VAT. A certificate is issued on completion and can be downloaded, and employers who register a company account can view and verify their staff’s certificates online rather than chasing paper copies.

The full fee list for every course is on the course fees page.

Where and how the training runs

Individuals train at the Fundza Training Institute centre at 11 Van Riebeeck Street, Mokopane, Limpopo. We do not provide accommodation, so learners travelling in make their own arrangements.

Companies can book a group and we train on your own site, anywhere in South Africa. Groups have been trained as far as Cape Town. Group size and travel are quoted per booking rather than published. Full detail is on on-site training.

Where this course leads

First aid is one leg of the safety appointments an employer has to fill. The others, with their own certificates, are:

• Fire fighting — the law requires suitable fire equipment on site, and the people to use it.
• SHE Representative — required in writing once more than 20 people work at a workplace.
• Working at Heights — wherever there is a risk of falling.

What the law asks of an employer across all of these is set out on the OHS Act.

Common questions