In our previous First Aid Update 8, we informed Members that Saiosh had submitted a Section 35 Appeal of the OHS Act (Act 85 of 1993) to the Chief Inspector, Mr. Tibor Szana. Mr. Szana did grant Saiosh, the opportunity to present a final appeal at a meeting held on Friday 26 March 2021 with Senior Members of his Department, Saiosh President, Saiosh CEO and the Chairperson of the Saiosh Health and Safety Training Advisory Committee (SHASTAC).
Saiosh has received no further correspondence from the Chief Inspector and therefore Notice 682 of 2020 came into full effect at midnight on the 31 March 2021, ending nearly three decades of First Aid Level 1, 2, and 3 training in South Africa as approved by Department of Employment and Labour (DEL).
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Training providers that are QCTO / SETA Accredited & DEL Approved will now need to present Unit Standard training only. The following SAQA Unit Standards have been identified to replace the DEL First Aid Level 1, 2, and 3 courses and will be the only first aid training that will be accepted in terms of General Safety Regulation 3.4.:
| SAQA US | US Title | NQF Level | Credits |
| 119567 | Perform basic Life Support and first aid procedures | 01 | 5 |
| 120496 | Provide risk-based primary emergency care/ first aid in the workplace | 02 | 5 |
| 376480 | Provide first aid as an advanced first responder | 03 | 8 |
THE FOLLOWING MUST BE NOTED:
Certificate of Competence and Statement of Results
Quality Assurance Partners (QAPs) as approved by the QCTO, each has its unique accreditation requirements and will guide on how the above unit standards or Skills Programme (combination of Unit Standards) must be presented, assessed, moderated, verified, and finally endorsed. The Certificate of Competency and Statement of Results can only be issued once the entire process has been concluded.
Section 3.4 of the General Safety Regulations places the following responsibility on the employer “Where more than 10 employees are employed at a workplace, ………., at least one person is readily available during normal working hours, who is in possession of a valid certificate of competency in first aid.” As Certificate of Competency and Statement of Results can take months to be issued by the QAPs, Saiosh recommends to Employers, that once a learner has attended Unit Standard First Aid training, a Section 40 Exemption Application to be sent to the Chief Inspector, as the employer will not be able to comply with the requirements of Regulation 3.4. until such time that the Competency Certificate has been issued by the relevant QAP.
Entrance Requirements
Each of the Unit Standards has the following entrance requirements:
US 119567 – Communication and Mathematical Literacy at ABET Level 3 (Grade 5 equivalent).
US 120496 – Communication at ABET Level 4 and Mathematical Literacy at NQF level 1 (Grade 9 equivalent). The learner must have completed US 14656: Demonstrate an understanding of sexuality and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS (NQF Level 01 | 5 Credits) before attending this US .
US 376480 – Communication and Mathematical Literacy at NQF Level 2 (Grade 10 equivalent) The learner must have completed US 120496: Provide risk-based primary emergency care/first aid in the workplace and US 260597: Provide information about HIV and AIDS and treatment options in community care and support situations (NQF Level 03 | 8 Credits) before attending this US.
Duration of training
The credits for the above unit standards range from 5 – 8 credits (1 credit is equal to 10 notional hours (NH). A NH is defined as a mix of contact time, self-study, assessment both formative and summative, and workplace experience. Thus, to obtain a valid certificate of competency as required by the GSR 3.4 certificate can range from 50 NH for the US 119567 and up to 260 NH for US 376480.
APPLICATION AS A QUALITY ASSURANCE PARTNER (QAP) TO QCTO.
Saiosh along with Institute for Working at Height (IWH) will continue trying to apply to the QCTO to recognise our proposed OHS regulatory Skills Programmes / Courses along with being a QAP for these programmes, further we are looking at ways to try to address the issuing of Competency Certificates that are endorsed by Saiosh and accepted by DEL as part of the Quality Assurance process.
Thank you for all the calls and support received from Members and concerned parties.
Graham Pearson
Chairperson: Saiosh Health and Safety Training Advisory Committee (SHASTAC)