Are you EMA licensed? You could be OFA certified.

As of July 1, 2018, as a result of revisions made to the WorkSafeBC Occupational First Aid program, EMA Licensees who possess a valid EMA license issued by the EMALB at the First Responder Level or great, may apply to any OFA training agency (hint: Alert First-Aid Inc.) for an OFA certificate as follows:

• EMA FR Schedule 1 licensees are eligible for an OFA 1 certificate
• EMA FR Schedule 2 licensees are eligible for an OFA 2 certificate

OFA certificates issued to an EMA FR licensee will expire on the same date as the EMA FR license. OFA certificates issued by an approved training agency, to an EMA FR are not restricted to the fire service industry (new!).

• EMA EMR licensees are eligible for an OFA Level 3 certificate
• EMA PCP licensees are eligible for an OFA Level 3 certificate
• EMA ACP licensees are eligible for an OFA Level 3 certificate
• EMA CCP licensees are eligible for an OFA Level 3 certificate

The OFA certificates issued to an EMA EMR or higher level of licensure, will expire three years from the date they are issued regardless of the expiry date on the license (if any).

All EMA license holders who apply to a training agency for an OFA certificate must complete a standard OFA application for certification that includes the terms and conditions of OFA certification and the updated WorkSafeBC OFA Jurisprudence Package.

This is great news, both for you (if you’re already EMA licensed), but for improving transfer-ability of skills and certificates across provinces. British Columbia is no longer a completely separate entity from the rest of the country first-aid-wise.

If you have any questions about how this process works, or to get your OFA certificate, please send us an email at info@alertfirstaid.com or give us a call at 1-866-282-5378.