"First aid course" is not one product in Singapore. A preschool teacher, a gym coach, and a warehouse first aider can all leave a Saturday class with a certificate, and none of those certificates swap.
Book the course your regulator named. Then learn the part no certificate covers well: the moment you stop compressing a chest or wrapping a cut and hand the person to a clinic or to 995.
What the course is for
First aid training is a short set of actions you can do before an ambulance or a doctor arrives. CPR and an AED for cardiac arrest. Back blows and thrusts for choking. Pressure for bleeding. A recovery position. Recognition of stroke and heart attack so you call 995 instead of driving to a GP.
It does not make you a clinician. It expires. The Singapore Resuscitation and First Aid Council accredits the providers that matter for most of these certificates. A glossy in-house workshop that is not SRFAC-accredited will not satisfy a coach registry or a preschool employer, however long the day felt.
Check the expiry date printed on the card. Many SRFAC certificates last two years. Providers commonly allow a refresher shortly before or after that date. Miss the window by months and you are often back in the full course, paying again. Confirm the window with the training centre before you assume a three-month grace still applies to your certificate year.
Pick the certificate by who will ask to see it
| If you are | Book | Who tends to ask |
|---|---|---|
| A member of the public, a CCA teacher, a parent who wants the skills | Standard First Aid with CPR and AED, from an SRFAC-accredited centre | Often nobody, until a school or sports body asks |
| A sport coach or fitness instructor renewing a licence | Standard First Aid | National Registry of Coaches. Confirm the current SportSG requirement before you pay. Basic first aid is the wrong box. |
| Appointed first aider at work | Occupational First Aid, plus CPR and AED | Your employer, against MOM workplace first-aid rules for that site. The company should tell you the course name. Do not guess. |
| Infant care, childcare, or preschool staff | Child First Aid | ECDA and the employer. An adult-only Standard First Aid course does not cover an infant the way this one does. |
| Someone who only needs resuscitation, not the full injury list | CPR+AED or Basic Cardiac Life Support with AED, SRFAC-accredited | Clinics, some schools, volunteer groups |
Psychological first aid is a different class again. It is not a substitute for any row in that table.
SkillsFuture credits and SSG subsidies show up at some centres and not others. The course page should say so before you enter a card number. A provider that mentions SkillsFuture only at the counter is a reason to pause.
Theory online plus one practical day is common for Standard First Aid. Occupational First Aid is more often a full classroom course because the workplace assessment is the point. Blended is fine if the practical day is real and the certificate names the SRFAC or MOM recognition you need. Blended is not fine if you need to show a specific approval and the PDF never mentions it.
What you should be able to do on the Monday after
A useful course leaves you able to:
- Find and use an AED without reading the lid for the first time in a corridor
- Decide that a person who is not breathing normally gets CPR, even if you are worried about hurting them
- Treat severe bleeding as a pressure problem, not a cleaning problem
- Recognise choking and switch methods for an infant
- Say "this is not a GP visit" out loud and call 995
If the class spent the afternoon on provider awards and left you unsure which side of the chest the pads go on, it was the wrong class. The skill list in first aid fundamentals is the homework version. The certificate is the version someone can audit.
Refresher courses exist so you do not wait two years and then discover you have forgotten the rate. Go before the card expires, not after an incident reminds you.
When first aid ends and a clinic or 995 begins
This is the trade-off people miss. More training can make you slower to escalate, because you feel equipped.
Call 995, and keep going with first aid while you wait, for:
- Not breathing normally, unconscious, or no pulse
- Chest pain, especially with sweating, nausea, or pain into the arm or jaw
- Face droop, arm weakness, or speech that has just gone wrong
- Bleeding that soaks through pressure
- A head injury with repeated vomiting, confusion, or a seizure
- A severe allergic reaction: lip or tongue swelling, wheeze, collapse
- A burn that is large, on the face, or around a joint
- Choking that is not relieved
A GP or a 24-hour clinic is the right next stop for a cut that now needs closing, a sprain you cannot bear weight on, a fever after a minor injury, or a burn smaller than the list above. The line between those and A&E is the same one in GP versus emergency department. Training does not move that line.
Do not drive an unconscious person, or anyone with possible spinal injury, past an ambulance to "save time." Do not offer your prescription medicines to someone else's chest pain.
After you qualify, walk to the AED nearest your home and your desk once, so the first time you open it is not the emergency. Home supplies worth actually owning are in the household emergency list. A certificate on a wall and an empty cupboard is a common Singapore combination.
FAQ
Is Basic First Aid enough for a coach licence?
Usually no. Coach and fitness renewals point at Standard First Aid. Check the National Registry of Coaches requirement for your sport before you book the cheaper intro course.
How long does the certificate last?
Look at the date on the card. Plan on two years for most SRFAC certificates, and book the refresher inside the window the provider prints. A long lapse usually means the full course again.
Can I use SkillsFuture?
Sometimes. It depends on the provider and the course code, not on the words "first aid." Ask for the claimable fee in writing.
Does Occupational First Aid cover my child at home?
The skills overlap. The certificate your employer needs is not the same document ECDA wants for preschool staff, and an adult manikin day is thin practice for an infant. If both apply to your life, you may need both courses.
Match the course to the person who will read the certificate, at an SRFAC-accredited centre. Then decide, before you need to, which injuries in your house go to a 24-hour clinic and which ones are a 995 call. The card does not make that decision for you.
