First aid instructor
A first aid instructor is a person who teaches course participants how to act immediately in an emergency, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the recovery position and the handling of injuries.
Check yourself in a minute: first aid instructor
Rate 5 of the 21 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.
prepare lesson content
compile course material
apply teaching strategies
ensure equipment availability
assess students
About first aid instructor
The instructor prepares lesson plans and develops course programmes against defined curriculum objectives, then runs sessions in which participants do the thing rather than watch it. The instructor provides practice materials, such as a training manikin, and assists learners in using the equipment: hand position, depth and rate of compressions, how an airway is opened, how a casualty is turned without making an injury worse.
The instructor needs a sound knowledge of first aid and emergency medical care, and knows critical cases well enough to explain why a step matters and what happens if it is skipped.
In sessions the instructor may also run emergency scenarios with participants so that they gain confidence in acting. Knowledge of internal diseases is also part of the instructor's preparation, within the limits of what a first aider may do. Formal requirements for instructors are set by national rules or by the organisation running the course.
European Skills Framework
Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.
Essential (21)
Optional (14) — show
Related Occupations
Occupations that need many of the same essential skills, so the move between them is shortest.
Frequently asked questions
What does a first aid instructor do?
First aid instructors teach students immediate lifesaving emergency measures, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the recovery position, and injury care. They provided practice materials such as a specialised manikin.
What skills does a first aid instructor need?
A first aid instructor needs 21 essential skills, including health, safety and hygiene legislation, general medicine, resuscitation, acute care, human anatomy.
Will AI replace first aid instructor jobs?
The AI disruption score for first aid instructor is 18/100 (low risk). Skills most exposed to automation: keep records of attendance, ensure equipment availability, health, safety and hygiene legislation. Most resilient: resuscitation, human anatomy, first aid.
AI Replacement Risk
Quick Facts
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