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First aid training equips your staff to respond competently in the critical minutes before emergency services arrive — and it keeps your business compliant with South African occupational health and safety law. BOTI delivers practical, workplace-focused first aid training to teams across Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and remote sites nationwide. This page explains what the course covers, who it suits, how it is delivered, and how to fund it through your Skills Development budget.
The business problem first aid training solves
Workplace injuries, medical emergencies and collapses do not wait for an ambulance. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 and the General Safety Regulations, employers must ensure that a sufficient number of trained first aiders are on site relative to the number of employees and the risk profile of the workplace. Failing to meet this duty exposes the business to enforcement action, civil liability and — far more importantly — avoidable harm to your people.
For HR, L&D and operations leaders, the practical problem is twofold: meeting the legal first-aider ratio, and making sure those nominated first aiders are genuinely capable, not just certificated. BOTI’s first aid training closes both gaps. Your staff leave able to manage bleeding, burns, fractures, shock, choking and cardiac arrest with confidence, and you hold valid certification to evidence compliance during an inspection or audit.
Who this course is for
This is corporate training designed for organisations equipping their own staff and teams, not for individual job-seekers. It is the right fit for:
- HR and L&D managers rolling out OHS compliance across sites or branches.
- Business owners and SME leaders who need designated first aiders to satisfy legal requirements.
- Operations, plant and facilities managers in manufacturing, mining, logistics, retail and construction, where risk is higher.
- Office-based employers in finance, professional services and call centres who still carry a legal first-aider obligation.
- SHEQ and safety officers building or refreshing an internal emergency-response capability.
Whether you need to certify two reception staff or roll out training to a 200-person warehouse, the programme scales to your headcount and risk level.
What the course covers
BOTI’s workplace first aid training is structured around the levels recognised in South African industry, so you can match the depth of training to your risk profile and the duties of your nominated first aiders.
| Level | Focus | Typical workplace |
|---|---|---|
| First Aid Level 1 | Basic life support, scene safety, CPR, common emergencies | Offices, retail, low-risk environments |
| First Aid Level 2 | Intermediate trauma, wound and fracture management, medical conditions | Warehousing, logistics, manufacturing |
| First Aid Level 3 | Advanced emergency care, multiple-casualty and high-risk response | Mining, construction, heavy industry |
Across the levels, the outline typically includes:
- The role, duties and legal responsibilities of a workplace first aider
- Emergency scene assessment and personal safety
- Adult, child and infant CPR and the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator)
- Managing an unconscious or non-breathing casualty
- Controlling bleeding, treating wounds, burns and fractures
- Recognising and responding to shock, choking and seizures
- Managing common medical emergencies (heart attack, stroke, diabetic and asthmatic episodes)
- Stocking, maintaining and using the workplace first aid kit
- Recording incidents and the handover to emergency medical services
Content is practical and assessment-based, with hands-on simulation so delegates demonstrate competence rather than simply listening.
Delivery formats and national reach
BOTI delivers first aid training the way that suits your operation:
- In-house / on-site: our facilitator comes to your premises, training your team together with minimal disruption and no travel cost for staff. This is the most popular format for groups.
- Scheduled public courses: ideal for one or two delegates at a time.
- Multi-site rollouts: coordinated delivery across branches nationally, with consistent content and reporting.
We train teams in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and across all provinces, with arrangements available for remote and outlying sites. For blended compliance programmes, first aid pairs naturally with our broader health and safety training courses and fire fighting and emergency response training.
Accreditation
BOTI’s workplace first aid training is a practical, facilitator-led skills programme; delegates receive a BOTI certificate of completion (this is not an accredited qualification). Certification is issued on successful assessment after hands-on, simulation-based delivery, giving you a clear record that nominated first aiders have demonstrated competence. Need accredited training? Ask about BOTI’s QCTO/SETA-accredited programmes in related areas such as Office Administration and Generic Management. (BOTI is an accredited training provider — Services SETA 12582, MICT SETA ACC/2016/07/0045, and a QCTO Quality Partner — though that accreditation does not cover this first aid course specifically.)
Funding: Skills Development budget and B-BBEE points
First aid training is a sound, low-friction use of your training spend — and it can do double duty on your transformation scorecard.
- Skills Development Levy (SDL): employers with an annual payroll above R500,000 pay the SDL at 1% of payroll. Training delivered to your staff may be claimable through your SETA via the mandatory grant process; note that mandatory-grant recovery typically applies to accredited interventions, so confirm with your SETA how non-accredited skills programmes such as this one are treated.
- B-BBEE skills development: the skills development element targets spend equivalent to 6% of the leviable amount on training for black employees. Workplace first aid training delivered to eligible staff can support a broader skills development plan; check with your B-BBEE verification agency how non-accredited skills programmes count toward your spend.
- Funded-training bridge: where you are building a wider compliance or learnership programme, first aid sits alongside BOTI’s QCTO/SETA-accredited programmes, which carry the formal accreditation that maximises mandatory grant recovery and scorecard contribution.
This is general guidance to help you plan, not legal or financial advice; confirm specifics with your SETA and B-BBEE verification agency. Need a costed proposal for your headcount? Request a quote or a 15-minute callback.
Why BOTI
- Compliance-focused — practical training built around OHS Act first-aider duties and audit-ready record-keeping.
- Trusted by major SA organisations — our clients include Sasol, Glencore and the City of Johannesburg.
- Breadth — first aid sits within a catalogue of 450 corporate courses, so you can consolidate suppliers across your compliance, safety and governance training.
- Practical facilitators — hands-on, simulation-based delivery that produces capable first aiders, not just certificate-holders.
- National, flexible delivery — on-site, public or multi-site, anywhere in South Africa.
Explore related programmes in our compliance and OHS training cluster and our POPIA and governance courses to build a complete compliance training plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many first aiders does my workplace legally need? Under the General Safety Regulations of the OHS Act, the required ratio depends on your headcount and risk. As a general rule, workplaces with more than a minimum number of employees must have at least one qualified first aider, scaling up with employee numbers and hazard level. BOTI can help you assess the right number for your sites.
How long is the first aid certificate valid? Workplace first aid certificates are typically treated as valid for a standard period (commonly up to three years) before refresher training is required. We can schedule refreshers proactively so your compliance never lapses.
Can you train our team on our own premises? Yes. On-site / in-house delivery is our most popular format. We bring the facilitator and equipment to you, train your team together and minimise downtime — ideal for groups and multi-branch businesses.
Is the training accredited and claimable? This first aid course is a practical, facilitator-led skills programme and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of completion — it is not an accredited qualification. Confirm with your SETA and B-BBEE verification agency how a non-accredited skills programme is treated for grant and scorecard purposes. If you need formally accredited training, ask about BOTI’s QCTO/SETA-accredited programmes (Services SETA 12582, MICT SETA ACC/2016/07/0045, QCTO Quality Partner) in related areas.
How much does first aid training cost? Pricing depends on the level, group size and delivery format. Request a quote and we will return a costed proposal matched to your headcount and risk profile.
Ready to get your workplace compliant? Request a quote or a 15-minute callback from BOTI on 011-882-8853, and ask for our free workplace first-aider ratio checklist to confirm exactly how many trained staff your sites require. Get started here.