Standard First Aid with CPR/AED in Saskatoon — Class A Attendant Qualification

Why this is the most-booked course in Saskatchewan

When Saskatchewan's Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 came into force in April 2021, they replaced the older first aid framework with one tied directly to the CSA Z1220-17 standard. The practical consequence: nearly every moderate-hazard or high-hazard workplace in the province now requires a designated first aid attendant on every shift, qualified at Class A or Class B.

Class A means 14 hours of first aid training plus 4 hours of CPR training. That's exactly what a Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid with CPR/AED Level C course delivers — which is why this is the credential most Saskatchewan workplaces specify when they post safety-related jobs or scheduled compliance updates.

If your role falls into any of the categories below, this is almost certainly the course you've been told to take:

• Construction trades on commercial or industrial sites in Saskatoon, Warman, Martensville, or the surrounding region
• Mining and resource extraction operations — potash, uranium, gold, and related processing
• Manufacturing and industrial facilities, including agricultural equipment and food processing
• Oil and gas service operations in the broader Saskatchewan sector
• Transport, logistics, and warehousing
• Designated workplace first aiders, safety officers, and JHSC representatives
• Site supervisors and forepeople expected to lead emergency response
• Outdoor recreation, guiding, and lifeguarding

What's in the curriculum

The Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid syllabus is structured into two halves. The first focuses on time-critical, life-threatening emergencies — the situations where your response in the first minute determines the outcome. The second covers the broader range of injuries and illnesses you'll encounter more often but where the consequences play out over longer time scales.

First half — primary emergencies and CPR

• Emergency Scene Management — the systematic approach to taking command of an emergency: scene safety, identifying mechanism of injury, activating 911, managing bystanders
• Primary assessment — the ABCs and how to rule in or out immediately life-threatening problems
• CPR Level C — for adult, child, and infant patients, single-rescuer technique
• AED operation — pad placement, integration with CPR cycles, special-circumstances handling (pacemakers, transdermal medication, wet patients, hairy chests)
• Choking management — conscious and unconscious choking across all ages, including pregnancy and obesity adaptations
• Severe bleeding control — direct pressure, pressure points, tourniquet application, and wound packing for major hemorrhage
• Shock — early recognition, positioning, and ongoing management

Second half — extended care and broader emergencies

• Secondary assessment — vital signs, SAMPLE history, head-to-toe examination for non-obvious injuries
• Bone, joint, and soft tissue injuries — fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains, and field-improvised immobilization
• Head, neck, and spinal injury management — when not to move, in-line stabilization, log-roll technique
• Burns — thermal, chemical, electrical, and friction burns, including the deep cold burns common in Saskatchewan winters
• Sudden medical emergencies — heart attack, stroke, seizure, diabetic emergency, anaphylaxis, asthma exacerbation
• Poisoning, overdose, and bite/sting management
• Environmental injuries — heat exhaustion and heat stroke, frostbite, hypothermia (these come up often in Saskatchewan, particularly for outdoor workers, agricultural producers, and anyone working with equipment exposed to a -35 morning)
• Final practical assessment and written knowledge check

How the course actually runs

Roughly a third of the time is structured instruction; the rest is practical skills work — manikins, AED trainers, bandaging materials, splints, and full scenario walk-throughs with classmates simulating patients. By the end of day two you'll have practised every core skill at least three times, in different contexts. That repetition is what turns instruction into something you can perform under pressure.

Are there prerequisites?

None. The course is open to anyone aged 14 and older. No prior medical training, fitness level, or background knowledge is assumed — we start from the assumption that this is your first exposure to formal first aid. Returning students refresh familiar material, learn what's changed since their last cycle, and benefit from the additional repetition.

What you walk out with

Successful completion — defined as full attendance, demonstrated competence in the practical skills, and 75% on the written assessment — earns you:

• A Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid with CPR/AED Level C certificate, valid for three years across Canada
• Recognition as a Class A first aid attendant under Saskatchewan's OHS Regulations, 2020
• Acceptance under WorkSafe Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan WCB, and every other provincial OHS regulator in the country
• Qualification for federally regulated workplaces — interprovincial transport, banking, telecom, federally regulated pipelines
• The digital certificate in your email inbox before you leave the building; the printed wallet card arrives by mail shortly after

Public versus onsite delivery

Public courses run at our Saskatoon training centre with regular weekday, weekend, and evening cohorts. Cohort sizes are kept small so each participant gets actual feedback on their compression technique, AED workflow, and patient handling.

For workplaces with six or more people to certify, onsite delivery is often the more practical option. We bring instructors, manikins, AED trainers, and all materials directly to your facility — anywhere in Saskatoon, Warman, Martensville, Dalmeny, Osler, Aberdeen, or beyond. The per-person cost typically lands at or below sending the same group to public sessions, and you avoid the productivity loss of staff traveling individually. Request an onsite quote →

Registration

The simplest way to book is through our online registration form — pick an available date, provide your details, and you'll receive a confirmation email with venue information, what to bring, and a brief pre-course checklist. You can also call us during business hours at (587) 680-0227.