First aid training online in the UK: where to study and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online first aid certificate

Your employer decides what first aid training your workplace needs, based on its own first-aid needs assessment. That is how the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 work: each employer looks at its own risks, people and premises and decides what equipment, facilities and trained people it needs. When an employer looks at an online certificate, these are the things that matter:

• It records what you did. A good certificate names the course, the hours of learning and the date you completed it.
• It can be checked. A unique certificate number and a verification link let a manager confirm it in seconds.
• The content is current. First aid content should follow current UK guidance, which for CPR, defibrillators and choking means the Resuscitation Council UK guidelines.
• It shows when to refresh. A recommended refresh-by date tells your employer when your knowledge is due an update.

The Lift College certificate does each of these. It records First Aid Training, 4 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh-by date 12 months later. It carries a unique certificate number and a verification link, and it is issued as a PDF the same day you pass. The course content is written around the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelines, and when guidelines change, Lift College updates the course.

What the Lift College course covers

The course has 8 short modules, 4 hours in total, with a knowledge check after each one.

1. First aid at work: how first aid is organised in your workplace, what your employer must provide, and checking for danger.
2. Assessing a casualty: a structured ABCDE check, when to call 999, and the recovery position.
3. CPR and defibrillators: recognising cardiac arrest, chest compressions at 100 to 120 a minute, when rescue breaths fit in, and using an AED.
4. Choking: telling mild from severe choking in an adult, and when to use back blows and abdominal thrusts.
5. Bleeding and shock: controlling bleeding with direct pressure, when a tourniquet is used, and caring for someone in shock.
6. Burns and scalds: cooling and covering a burn, and knowing when it needs hospital care.
7. Seizures and strokes: keeping someone safe during a seizure, and spotting a stroke with FAST.
8. Other medical emergencies: chest pain, asthma attacks, low blood sugar and severe allergic reactions.

The final test is multiple choice, 80% to pass, with unlimited free retakes. Modules can be finished in one sitting or across several, and you can pick up where you left off on any device.

The law and guidance it is written around

The Lift College course page cites two pieces of UK law.

• Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981: employers must provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities and people, so employees get immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work. Employers must also tell employees about the first-aid arrangements. HSE says this applies to every workplace, including those with fewer than five employees.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2: employers must provide "such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees".

The CPR, defibrillator, choking, bleeding and recovery position content follows the guidelines the Resuscitation Council UK published in October 2025.

How online first aid courses compare

Prices and details below come from each provider's own course page, checked 11 October 2026. Where a page does not state something, the cell says "Check provider".

Who it suits

Lift College's First Aid Training suits every employee, in any workplace. It fits well if you:

• work in an office, shop, warehouse or school and want to know what to do in an emergency
• serve the public in retail, hospitality or leisure
• work alone, or in places where an ambulance may take time to arrive
• lead a team and want to understand first aid arrangements at work
• want to refresh your CPR and defibrillator knowledge against the 2025 guidelines

You need to be 16 or over. Access lasts for as long as Lift College offers the course, and never less than 3 years from purchase. If you change your mind, ask within 14 days of paying for a full refund. Buying for a team? Ask about team enrolment.

If your role also involves allergies or oxygen, see our guides to anaphylaxis training online and medical gas safety training online. You can browse every course in first aid and medical or the full range of CPD courses, or go straight to First Aid Training.