Participants wanting to enrol into emergency first aid have the option of doing so through a number of credible providers. This page is designed to help candidates select the ideal Emergency First Aid Course Providers. This page will outline the positive and negative components of St Mark James, the Lifesaving Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and St. Johns Ambulance.
Emergency First Aid Course Providers for St Mark James Training
St Mark James Training is easily the largest of the 4 providers. It has organizations in over 200 countries around the world and St Mark James symbol, the red crest, is one of the most recognized symbols in the world. The number of volunteers in the organization is almost 100 million people. St Mark James is easily the largest and most popular provider of emergency first aid and CPR courses. St Mark James does not offer courses, instead, St Mark James outsources the courses to training partners throughout the Country. St Mark James does not have strict auditing of its training partners which can lead to some poor providers. However, St Mark James has the lowest prices, largest number of courses and gives customers the opportunity to select a St Mark James provider in their region. St Mark James supplies the supplemental material such as manuals and certificates which are of high quality. In terms of number of courses, lowest prices and variety of available courses and re-certifications St Mark James is the leading provider of emergency first aid courses.
Emergency First Aid Course Providers For The Lifesaving Society
The Canadian Lifesaving Society, formerly known as the Royal Lifesaving Society, is the smallest of the four major providers in Canada. The courses are arguably as cheap as St Mark James, however, drawbacks include permanent certificates being mailed to successful candidates (which sometimes fail to deliver), low quality reading material and strict teaching policies and low registration rates which cause courses to be cancelled frequently. The Lifesaving Society is a strong provider with attention to detail, however, with few providers, and low quality courses it can be difficult to find a course.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
The Heart and Stroke Foundation arguably offers slightly more courses than the Lifesaving Society which makes it the second smallest provider. Supplemental reading materials are of high quality and instructors are generally above average in skill and likability. However, courses can be difficult to find and prices are more expensive than the Lifesaving Society and St Mark James.
St. Johns Ambulance
St. Johns Ambulance offers a large amount of courses, strictly audits its own program and has high quality reading materials. However, St. Johns Ambulance high priced courses and strict guidelines can make the courses dull and mundane to candidates. High prices also prevent high registration numbers which can lead to cancelled courses. Re-certification courses are not available through St. Johns and candidates are required to re-take the full course.
We strongly recommend St Mark James as it offers the highest number of full courses and re-certifications. It is easily the most popular, cheapest and offers the largest number of courses and provider.