No matter how advanced our technological skills and techniques are becoming, it’s essential for all workplaces to have a thorough understanding of how basic first aid works. Despite the fact that the average emergency services call-to-site time is extremely low, as any paramedic will tell you, it’s what happens in the time before they arrive on the scene that can really determine the patient’s chances of survival.

In addition to emergencies, work-related illnesses account for a significant amount of chronic health conditions worldwide. When you take into consideration the fact that these accidents can be very expensive for employers when you take into account not only the insurance payout, but also the lost production in the recovery time that the employee will take, it makes the need for thorough first aid training in the workplace even more vital.

This combination of factors is just one of the reasons that in recent years the online training industry has seen a sharp rise in the use of online first aid training courses. But it isn’t just the demand for these skills that’s leading to the rise in online first aid training courses.

First aid training is an excellent mechanism by which to cultivate trust and strong relationships between colleagues and teams. Fostering a culture of care among co-workers has been shown to increase team productivity and even revenue. In addition to being a team building activity, it’s key to build a culture of trust among your colleagues by ensuring that they all know they’re properly trained and can administer life-saving first aid if they need to.

Additionally, online first aid training works on a schedule which is entirely self-paced and can be completed at any location with a computer and internet access. This saves you all  the bother and cost of relocating your team, as well as enabling them to work through the first aid scenarios at their own pace. This is a vital and unique aspect to online training. As extensive research has shown, different individuals learn at different paces. Online training allows you to accommodate the learning paces of all of your team members, allowing them to fully absorb the skills and techniques included in their training. This ability to self-pace your learning is essential no matter what training you’re undertaking, but it takes on an especially important aspect when the skills that are being taught have the potential to save lives.

There are advantages to online first aid training that extend beyond the workplace.  Knowing that all of the members of your corporation have been trained in first aid can be an excellent way to increase trust among stakeholders and beneficiaries.

For stakeholders, it’s essential to know that the organization or business that they’re invested in is well trained, prepared and able to deal effectively with any situation. Risk assessment is a very important part of any business evaluation, and it’s essential for any investor to feel secure in the quality of the establishment in which they’re investing.

As the rising trend in online first aid training is proving, technology doesn’t mean that you have to distance yourself from these practical skills – they can actually act as an enabler, making it easier for us all to access potentially life-saving techniques and knowledge.