NZQA approved our Manage First Aid in an Emergency Situation micro-credential in November 2024. The micro-credential was designed to a) provide a NZQCF-listed credential which providers can award to learners at their own discretion, and b) provide a replacement qualification to a range of NZQA-approved training schemes.
NZQA approved the micro-credential with the stipulation that Toitū te Waiora should conduct a review in 2025 of credit weighting in unit standards 6400, 6401, 6402, which are used to assess learner competency prior to award of the micro-credential. They raised concerns during the approval process about potential over-crediting of unit standards 6400, 6401, and 6402.
Several Tertiary Education Organisations (‘TEO’) award NZQA-approved first aid training schemes that assess against unit standards 6400, 6401, and 6402. As training schemes are in the process of being converted into micro-credentials listed on the NZQCF, NZQA require us to consider unit standard credits prior to them undertaking conversion work with TEO who deliver and award first aid training schemes. They have stated that conversion of existing first aid training schemes into micro-credential awards will commence in early 2026.
A consideration for the review is whether it is appropriate for these unit standards to change in credit weighting. For example, if a learner can only demonstrate safe competency against learning outcomes over a 50-hour learning period (which the current credits would suggest), altering credits would be undesirable.
Therefore, dependent on unit standard review outcomes, credit weighting of the Manage First Aid in an Emergency Situation micro-credential will either remain as is, or will change.
NZQA have directed that a requirement in Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) for First Aid (version 5) stating minimum duration of training for unit standards 6400, 6401, and 6402, should be reviewed. The specific requirement is:
The minimum duration of first aid training and assessment for training based on standards 6400, 6401, and 6402 is 12 hours of training and assessment, and for standards 6401 and 6402 or standards 26551 and 26552 it is eight hours of training and assessment.
NZQA consider that the 12-hour minimum duration is at odds with the 50 notional hours of teaching, learning, and assessment that the combined credit value of standards 6400, 6401, and 6402 would suggest.
Therefore, Toitū te Waiora intends to review credit weightings of unit standards 6400, 6401, and 6402 in May 2025. It should be noted that due to NZQA’s commitment to progressively replace unit standards with skill standards, a certain outcome of this review will be the replacement of all existing unit standards with new skill standards.
Arrangements for expiry of current unit standards will be communicated with the sector when skill standards are listed by NZQA, along with a suitable transition period, as will any changes made to Consent and Moderation Requirements.
If you would like to be involved in the review, please complete the survey below. Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected]. We will arrange Microsoft Teams meetings in May 2025.
Click here to take the survey
