Occupational First Aid Training
WorkSafeBC Certified. Delivered By People Who Actually Work In The Field.
Occupational First Aid isn’t optional. If you run a worksite, a crew, or any business in BC, you have a legal duty to have a certified first aid attendant on hand, and WorkSafeBC decides exactly what that attendant needs to know.
The trouble is, most workplace first aid courses are taught in a classroom by an instructor who may not have had much experience managing a real injury on a job site. At Canadian Outdoor Medical Consulting, our instructors are working paramedics, guides, and outdoor professionals. We teach Occupational First Aid the way it’s actually used, under pressure, with limited equipment, and with a coworker counting on you to get it right.
What Makes Occupational First Aid Different
It’s not wilderness medicine, and it’s not a hobby course. It’s the legally required standard of care for BC workplaces, set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and delivered to WorkSafeBC’s specifications.
Your first aid attendant needs to be ready to respond the moment something goes wrong, and your workplace needs to meet the level of care your First Aid Assessment requires.
Our Occupational First Aid courses include:
- Scene assessment and initial patient care in a workplace setting.
- CPR and AED use, certified through the Lifesaving Society.
- Bleeding control, wound care, and basic injury management.
- Detecting and handling medical emergencies on site.
- Documentation and reporting that meets WorkSafeBC standards.
- Practical, hands-on scenarios based on real workplace injuries, not textbook cases.
The Three Levels, Explained
We offer all three levels of Occupational First Aid required under the current WorkSafeBC framework. Each level is matched to a different level of workplace risk and responsibility, as determined by your site’s First Aid Assessment.
Basic First Aid (formerly OFA Level 1), 7 hours
Intermediate First Aid (formerly OFA Level 2), 14 hours
Advanced First Aid (formerly OFA Level 3), 70 hours
Best for: Lower-risk workplaces, smaller crews, and worksites close to emergency medical services.
Basic First Aid is the entry point for a workplace first aid attendant. In a single day, you’ll learn scene assessment, CPR and AED use, bleeding control, and basic wound care. You’ll leave ready to be the first line of response for common workplace injuries.
This is the right level if your worksite is close to help and your First Aid Assessment calls for a basic level of care.
Best for: Medium-risk workplaces, crews working further from emergency services, and attendants who need a deeper skill set than Basic First Aid provides.
Intermediate First Aid builds on the basics with more time spent on patient assessment, injury management, and hands-on practice. You’ll work through likely scenarios that reflect the kinds of injuries that actually happen on job sites, and you’ll leave with the judgment to manage a patient until help arrives.
This is the right level if your workplace has moderate hazards or is far enough from a hospital that your attendant needs to hold a patient for longer.
Best for: Higher-risk industrial workplaces, remote job sites, and any operation where the First Aid Assessment calls for the highest level of workplace attendant training.
Advanced First Aid is the most comprehensive Occupational First Aid certification available. Over 70 hours of in-depth, scenario-based training, you’ll develop the assessment skills, treatment protocols, and confidence to manage serious workplace injuries, often with limited support and for extended periods. This level is built for workplaces that carry the highest risk and have the least room for error.
This is the right level if your worksite is remote, high-hazard, or requires a designated attendant capable of providing extended patient care.
Not sure which level your workplace needs
Your required level of Occupational First Aid depends on your First Aid Assessment, which looks at your hazard rating, crew size, and distance from emergency medical services. We’re glad to walk through it with you and help you land on the right course, not just the most expensive one.
Who This Is For
Every BC workplace has a legal obligation to meet a minimum standard of first aid coverage, and that obligation looks different depending on your industry.
We regularly train:
Construction crews and site supervisors need a designated first aid attendant on site during working hours.
Forestry, resource, and industrial workers operating in higher-hazard environments possess limited access to emergency services.
Guiding companies, outdoor recreation operators, and event organizers who carry a duty of care for staff and clients alike.
Retail, hospitality, and office employers who need to meet their WorkSafeBC first aid obligations without overtraining or undertraining their team.
Health and safety coordinators are responsible for keeping first aid certifications current across an entire organization.
If your workplace falls under BC’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and every workplace does, your Occupational First Aid attendant needs to be certified at the right level.
How We Deliver It
We don’t do generic classroom courses.
Our instructors are working paramedics, ski patrollers, and guides who bring real field experience into every session. When we talk about managing a workplace injury, it’s because we’ve done it. When we run a scenario, it reflects the kind of incident that actually happens on a job site, not a textbook example.
Most of our Occupational First Aid courses are offered in a hybrid format. Learners complete foundational online modules before joining in-person sessions, so we can spend our time together on hands-on practice instead of lectures.
We also offer fully custom Occupational First Aid training for organizations with specific site conditions, industries, or risk profiles. A remote logging operation has different needs than a downtown office. A ski resort has a different exposure than a warehouse. We’ll build a course that fits your workplace and deliver it where your team actually operates.
Over 2,500 students have come through our programmes, from construction crews to BC Wildfire Service teams, from resort operators to film production sets. We bring that range of experience into every course we teach.
Custom Training For Your Team or Organization
If you’re managing a job site, running a guiding operation, or coordinating first aid coverage across multiple locations, we’ll come to you.
Custom Occupational First Aid training can be:
- Customized to your industry, worksite, and First Aid Assessment requirements.
- Delivered at your location, on site, in the field, or wherever your team works.
- Scheduled around your operational calendar.
- Paired with risk management services if needed, including First Aid Assessments, emergency response plan design, and documentation support.
We work with your team to understand your workplace and its hazards, so the training we deliver actually fits the risks your attendants will face. Contact us to register your team or to learn more about our Occupational First Aid course options.
Not sure which level is right for you?
We’re happy to help you figure it out. Every organization, operation, and team has different needs, and we’d rather you get the right training than the most expensive one. Get in touch, and we’ll talk it through.
Certifications and Affiliations
Our Occupational First Aid courses are delivered to WorkSafeBC’s current standards, following the CSA-aligned Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced certification structure that came into effect on November 1, 2024. CPR and AED training through the Lifesaving Society is included in all Occupational First Aid courses.
We are also affiliated with the National Ski Patrol (NSP), Avalanche Canada, and the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), organizations whose members we frequently train alongside.