The benefits of educating your employees on CPR and first aid cannot be understated. Arming your workers with these essential skills can reduce the likelihood of workplace-related accidents and injuries, lessen the severity of injuries and accidents that do end up occurring, and ultimately save lives. Continuing education that enriches your workforce also encourages employee retention and keeps workers satisfied and happy in their jobs.
There are several methods of providing first aid training to your employees. There are online, blended, and classroom first aid training courses that you can choose from. You can enroll your employees in a local accredited training facility. You can also hire a qualified instructor for first aid training that is conducted on-site at your place of work. Of these various methods, we want to talk about the reasons why you should consider on-site first aid training courses for your company.
It Keeps Your Company Compliant with Work Health and Safety Laws
Business owners have a legal obligation to provide a safe work environment for their employees. Under law, this includes providing adequate first aid facilities and access to a certified first aider or providing first aid training to the employees if the company does not wish to hire out for one. If your employees are already CPR certified, an annual express CPR training certification course can be conducted as a meaningful refresher. SafeWork Australia recommends that refresher courses on CPR be conducted every 12 months to keep vital information current.
It Can Be Tailored to Your Industry
Choosing to hold on-site first aid training courses can prove to be more valuable to your specific workplace environment than a general course or one that is conducted online. While the lessons taught during first aid training are largely universal and can be applied to a vast majority of settings, your workers will benefit more from a course that is tailor-made to their needs and unique situation.
With an on-site first aid training course, instructors will be able to perform a risk assessment of your workplace and make use of existing features in their lessons. They will be able to point out and identify potential hazards and customize a training program addressing the risks that your workforce could be facing daily, thus enabling workers to deal with crisis or disaster situations calmly and effectively.
It’s Cost-Effective
As mentioned above, work health and safety laws in Australia state that all employees should have access not only to first aid kits and adequate first aid facilities in the workplace, but also have access to a certified first aider during work hours. Instead of hiring out for the position, it could be more cost-effective for the company to provide first aid training to a certain number of employees instead. This ensures that there is always someone certified in administering it during a shift.
The number of employees that should be given first aid training will depend on the size of your workforce, the nature of your business or industry, and the risk level of the workplace. Consult your local laws to accurately determine that number.
It Creates a Positive Work Environment and Boosts Company Morale
Providing training and continuing education to your workers shows that you are a responsible company manager that cares about their employees’ health and well-being. The skills they learn during the lessons are practical and can be integrated into their personal lives both in and out of the workplace. The courses themselves can also be an excellent team-building activity that can create better relationships among colleagues and nurture existing ones.
No matter how safe you think your workplace is, accidents can still happen at any time. Well-trained employees that are CPR and first aid certified will be an asset to the company should anything untoward occur. Invest in on-site first aid training for your workers today!
short url: