The Qualifications & Competence You Need To Run The EFAW Course

Many trainers who currently deliver SIA license linked qualifications through their respective Awarding Organisations (AO), may now be considering also running the 1 x day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) course.

This is because as of April 2020, all learners attending all SIA license to practice award course will have to provide evidence of having attended a 1 x day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) course with at least 12 months left on it as a prerequisite before a learner can start a licence-linked qualification.

This applies to all SIA license to practice Award courses being run through all Awarding Organisation Centres and includes:

1. Level 2 Door Supervisors Courses
2. CCTV,
3. Security Officer, and
4. Vehicle Immobilisation.

Learners should, as a minimum, have First Aid skills that follow the HSE requirements equivalent to the following;

• Level 3 (RQF/QCF) Level 6 (Level 6 SCQF) Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW).

Learners should present their valid First Aid certificate to their training provider before they start training and the certificate must be valid for at least 12 months from course start date.

First Aid (Close Protection)

It is also an SIA requirement that training centres must confirm that each learner has a valid Level 3 (RQF/QCF) Level 6 (SQF) 3-day full First Aid qualification before they can begin any close protection training.

Training centres are permitted to deliver suitable First Aid qualifications together with the close protection qualification as part of a training package.

All First Aid training must be completed and passed prior to the commencement of the close protection training. Acceptable First Aid qualifications include;

• Level 3 (RQF/QCF) Level 6 (SCQF) First Aid at Work
• Level 3 (RQF/QCF) Level 6 (SCQF) First Person on Scene
• Level 3 (RQF/QCF) Level 6 (SCQF) First Response Emergency Care
• Level 3 (RQF) Level 6 (SCQF) First Aid Response

Trainers not able to offer the EFAW will need to refer learners to another training provider.

The Benefits of Offering The EFAW Course

Therefore, it would make sense for a trainer who is already offering the SIA license linked courses to be approved by their AO to also deliver the EFAW course, because:

1. That means that they can offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for people who are looking to undertake a SIA license linked course;
2. It also means that the trainer can offer an additional training service, so their learners do not have to go elsewhere to get the EFAW certificate;
3. Which in turn means that they can increase their revenue by offering an additional training course.

Requirements for Awarding Organisations and Training Centres Delivering SIA Licence to Practice Qualifications

According to the Requirements for Awarding Organisations and Training Centres delivering SIA Licence to Practice Qualifications (Draft version December 2019), which is due to come into effect from April 2020 – 

• A qualified first aider must be available at all times during the delivery and assessment of the physical skills and conflict management units.
• We recommend that trainers/assessors delivering physical skills obtain a 3-day First Aid at Work Qualification.

And, most SIA license linked trainers will already have the above 3-day First Aid at Work Qualification.

What Do You Need To Be Able To Deliver The EFAW Course

So, if you are currently a trainer authorised to deliver the SIA licence-linked qualifications through your respective Awarding Organisation you may be considering running the EFAW course as an additional income stream to your business.

If you are thinking of offering the EFAW Course would need to have the following:

1: A Level 3 Teaching Qualification (.e., EAT Level 3 or PTLLS including the principles and practices of assessment modules); 

2: A Level 3 First Aid Qualification;

3: Sector Competence.

Sector Competence – The Possible Pitfalls

If you already have a Level 3 AET and a 3 Day Level 3 First Aid at Work Certificate (which most trainers will already have), you could seek Awarding Organisation approval to deliver the EFAW course, but the problem arises with the issue of sector competence.

However, a common mistake that many SIA licensed linked trainers are making is that they think that because they have lots of ‘sector competence’ in delivering SIA licensed linked qualifications, that automatically applies to the any sector competence to deliver the Emergency First Aid At Work Course – but it doesn’t.

They are two different competence requirements, which I will come onto in a minute.

In The Meanwhile, Here’s a Real Example of How Things Could Potentially Go Wrong!

I was recently contacted by a Trainer who delivers various SIA license linked qualifications.

He recently told his Awarding Organisation that he wanted to teach first aid, so that he could deliver the first aid training to people who were wanting to undertake a SIA license linked qualification, and the following correspondence highlights the problem that I am talking about.

This was the email he sent me:

“With the SIA changes coming in April, I’ve been looking at getting approved to deliver the EFAW course. I’ve got bucket loads of sector competence, and hold the standard 3 day first aid cert, so I was hoping I would be able to deliver this. When I asked one of our awarding bodies to confirm my approval to deliver it, I got this in response;”

And this was the response he received from his Awarding Organisation that he is referring to in his email to me:

“Thanks for your email.

I have checked the documents you have provided and because your PTLLS qualification includes the “Y/503/1239 Principles of assessment in lifelong learning” unit, you will only be able to teach First Aid. You will need to get an assessor qualification or attend a regulated CPD event to also be able to assess them.

In the mean time I have approved you to teach the qualifications.”

In short, because he didn’t do the ‘principles and practices of assessment’ when he did his PTLLS Award, he could only teach the first aid, not assess it ……..

…….. But they still approved him to teach the qualification!

In short, as you have just seen, the Awarding Organisation approved this SIA License Linked Trainer to deliver the [EFAW] qualification, but didn’t check whether or not the trainer had the sector competence to do so.

So, if you already have a Level 3 AET and a 3 Day Level 3 First Aid at Work Certificate, you could seek awarding body status to deliver this additional qualification (which they may actually approve you for) but how do you prove that you have the ‘sector competence’ to run the EFAW course?

And The Problem is Likely To Arise When You Run Your First EFAW Course!

What could possible happen (based on the above) is that you run the EFAW course, but before the AO releases the EFAW certificates to your learners, they will send out a Standards Verifier to inspect and verify that you have:

1. Run the course properly,
2. All the paperwork is completed to the required standard,
3. You and/or the trainers who ran the course have the appropriate qualifications, and the required sector competence, including …..
4. ……. An assessment of the skills of trainers/assessors at least annually by a ‘designated person’ (who can be from inside or outside the organisation), should be independent of training delivery and demonstrate competence for their role.

And it is point 4 above where the problem arises for the following reason – Having the sector competence to deliver the SIA licensed linked qualifications (door supervision, cctv, security guarding, vehicle immobilisation and close protection) is NOT the same sector competence that is required to deliver the EFAW course!

And if you don’t have the sector competence to deliver the EFAW course that is what can result in you being ‘qualified’ but not ‘sector competent’, which can result in the certification for your learners getting blocked.

And if that happens, and they don’t get their EFAW certificate, that means they can’t start their license linked course, which means that they can’t work.

An Example

Let’s say you get approved to deliver the EFAW (as happened to the SIA license Linked trainer above) course so that you can run EFAW training so that people can get the EFAW certificate, which is what they need to provide when they turn up for the SIA License linked qualification course.

Twenty people attend the course. It goes well and everyone passes.

The AO send out a standards verifier to check everything and when they arrive they check all the paperwork and it is all good.

The SV then checks your qualifications which are all in order (which they will be because you had to send in your qualification certificates to get approved to run the course). No problem there.

Then the SV asks to see your sector competence and your annual assessment of your ability to run the EFAW course. But you don’t have that because either you mistakenly think your sector competence as a SIA license linked trainer is satisfactory (which it isn’t) and/or because you were never told that you had to provide anything specific to running first aid courses when your AO approved you on the basis of your qualifications alone.

The problem here is that all of those twenty learners who have paid you money to undertake their EFAW course with you (because they need to show the EFAW certificate when they turn up for the SIA license linked course) are not going to get their certificate because you didn’t have the sector competence to deliver the EFAW course – despite being approved to deliver it by your respective Awarding Organisation.

This means that they have to cancel their place on the SIA license linked course that they have booked, which means they lose any potential work that they may have been relying on once they were qualified.

Then they have to go and find someone else who is qualified and competent and re-do the training all over again.

And it goes without saying that they will come to you for your money back, which is the least of your problems, because they will also probably tell everyone about you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on every forum and social media group they belong to, which is probably going to damage your reputation possibly beyond repair.

Another Example – And It Could Potentially Be Worse Than The First Example!

Let’s say you get approved to deliver the EFAW course so that you can run EFAW training so that people can get the EFAW certificate, which is what they need to provide when they turn up for the SIA License linked qualification course.

Twenty people attend the course. It goes well and everyone passes.

The AO send out a standards verifier to check everything and when they arrive they check all the paperwork and it is all good.

The SV then checks your qualifications which are all in order (which they will be because you had to send in your qualification certificates to get approved to run the course). No problem there.

They submit their SV report and the certificates are released and twenty people get their EFAW certificate and go on to successfully complete their SIA License linked qualification course and start work.

Then you run another four or five courses and another eighty or so people get their EFAW certificate and go on to successfully complete their SIA License linked qualification course and start work.

Then you get another SV visit and a new SV turns up.

They check all of the paperwork, check your qualifications and asks to see evidence of your sector competence and your annual assessment.

But you don’t have that because (again) either you mistakenly think your sector competence as a SIA license linked trainer is satisfactory (which it isn’t) and/or because you were never told that you had to provide anything specific to running first aid courses when your AO approved you on the basis of your qualifications alone.

The new SV digs a bit deeper into the previous SV’s reports and find out that had never been asked for evidence of your sector competence and your annual assessment.

That could possibly result in all of the certificates you have registered and claimed (possibly a hundred in this example) being revoked.

That also means that any certificates that the learner may have gained from attending their respective SIA license linked course/s may also be revoked.

That means that they can’t work, so they lose their job, can’t pay the mortgage or rent, feed their kids, pay the bills. This is potentially devastating.

Then you will probably have one-hundred people who will come to you for your money back, who will also probably tell everyone about you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on every forum and social media group they belong to, which is probably going to damage your reputation possibly beyond repair.

Then they have to go and find someone else who is qualified and competent and re-do the training all over again.

Not to mention that fact that you could be put under investigation and have your Awarding Organisation approval to run any courses suspended by your respective AO.

That means you can’t work, so you can’t earn money, can’t pay your mortgage or rent, feed your kids, pay your bills, etc., and all of the people you have trained may come back to you for a refund based on the basis that they have been missold the course. And some might even pursue legal action due to the fact that they have lost their job and pursue you for damages for ,ost income (which could run into thousands of pounds and even possibly tens of thousands of pounds if a lot of the people you train come after you). This is potentially devastating for you and your family too.

And that is probably the tip of the iceberg. Imagine the damage to your reputation. It takes years to build a good name in the industry, and all that could be lost overnight.

But that’s where we come in.

The Solution – How To Get The Required Sector Competence

What we are proposing to do is to run a one-day 1 day First Aid instructor cpd/sector competence course for individuals who need to get the required sector competence to deliver the EFAW course.

This one day course will be run by individuals independent of your training delivery, who are properly qualified and with the right degree of sector competence to enable them to assess you as a trainer/assessor and to provide you with a certificate of sector competence on completion of the course.

That will satisfy the Standard Verifiers evidence for sector competency when you receive your first SV visit.

To qualify for this one-day course you must have the following:

1. A Current 18 Hour 3 x Day Level 3 (Level 6 in Scotland) First Aid at Work Certificate;
2. The Level 3 Award in Education & Training or a PTLLS Level 3 or 4 Award which includes the Principles and Practices of Assessment.

We are expecting a big take up on the course as what we are finding is that not a lot of people realise the potential issues that we have highlighted in this article, especially and specifically the issue of sector competence.

As such many SIA license linked trainers could fall into the trap of making the mistakes that I have highlighted in this article, and fall victim to the collateral damage this course cause them, their business and the people they train.

SIA Changes For Door Supervisors and Security Guards From 1st April 2021

The following blog post also highlights all of the changes that are coming into effect as from April 2021…..

PS: Also, if you are in the care industry and you hold a current 18 Hour 3 x Day Level 3 (Level 6 in Scotland) First Aid at Work Certificate and a Level 3 AET Award then you could also obtain the necessary sector competence to enable you to train you own staff as opposed to bringing in someone from an outside agency to do so, which can save you a lot of money over time.

#training #markdawes #nfpsltd #efaw #firstaid #firstaidtraining #sia #doorsupervisor