EVENINGS & WEEKENDS — KEEP WORKING WHILE YOU CERTIFY
PART-TIME FIRST AID & SAFETY COURSES IN BC
Metro Safety Training runs part-time cohorts for our longest programs — Advanced First Aid (OFA 3), AFA Renewal, EMR and Construction Safety Officer — delivered on weekday evenings and weekends from our Coquitlam classroom so you never have to take ten straight days off work.
Part-time training at Metro Safety Training exists for one reason: the certifications employers ask for most — WorkSafeBC Advanced First Aid (OFA Level 3), AFA Renewal, Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), and Construction Safety Officer (CSO) — are long programs. Full-time delivery means blocking off two solid weeks of workdays, which most working first aid attendants, tradespeople, shift workers, and site supervisors simply cannot do without losing income or leaving a site without coverage. Our part-time cohorts solve that by spreading the exact same instructional hours across multiple weeks, combining weekday evening sessions with full Saturday and Sunday days. Nothing is trimmed. Every module, every practical skill station, and every hour of formal examination is delivered by the same WorkSafeBC-approved instructors who teach our full-time programs, and the certificate you receive is identical — there is no notation on it distinguishing part-time from full-time. This page lists every part-time cohort we currently have scheduled. Shorter courses such as Basic First Aid, Standard/Intermediate First Aid, CPR-C and WHMIS are already single-day or two-day programs, so they run on our regular calendar rather than as part-time cohorts.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE
- Working first aid attendants who cannot leave a site for two weeks
- Tradespeople and construction crews on active projects
- Shift workers, drivers and industrial staff with rotating schedules
- Career changers studying toward EMR or a safety-officer role
- Employers who need staff certified without pulling them off the job
- Students topping up to OFA Level 3 while working part-time hours
Prerequisites: Prerequisites match the full-time version of each program — for example, Advanced First Aid has no formal prerequisite but demands the physical ability to perform CPR, patient packaging, spinal management and extended patient care, while AFA Renewal requires a current or recently expired OFA Level 3. Government-issued photo ID is required at the first session of every cohort. Because part-time material builds week to week and skills are evaluated continuously, full attendance at every scheduled session is required; missed sessions cannot be made up inside the same cohort.
WHY CHOOSE METRO SAFETY
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
- Your certification card / certificate issued by the governing body (WorkSafeBC, Canadian Red Cross or ASTTBC depending on program)
- Full student manual and reference materials for the program
- Every practical and written examination included in the cohort schedule
- A written cohort calendar listing each evening and weekend session up front
How a Part-Time Cohort Works
A part-time cohort is a single course delivered across several weeks rather than consecutive days. When you register, you register once for the whole cohort — you are not booking individual classes. The schedule typically pairs weekday evening sessions (usually 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.) with full Saturday and Sunday days (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and the exact calendar for each cohort is confirmed at registration so you can plan work and family commitments around it. Theory and practical work alternate the same way they do in the full-time program, and the final sessions are dedicated to the formal written and practical examinations.
Advanced First Aid (OFA 3 / AFA) Part-Time
The flagship part-time program: the complete 70-hour WorkSafeBC Advanced First Aid curriculum — advanced airway management, oxygen therapy and BVM ventilation, spinal packaging and immobilization, extended patient care, START triage for multi-casualty incidents, and full documentation practice — spread across multiple weeks of evenings and weekends. Successful candidates receive the WorkSafeBC OFA Level 3 certificate, valid three years, mailed by WorkSafeBC in your legal name. Full program details are on the dedicated Advanced First Aid Part-Time page.
AFA Renewal Part-Time
OFA Level 3 renewal requires retaking the full program — there is no bridge or portfolio route — which makes the part-time format especially valuable for attendants already working in the role. Renewal cohorts follow the same evening-and-weekend structure and are limited in size, so we recommend planning three to six months ahead of your expiry date.
Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)
EMR is the licensing-level program for candidates moving toward BC ambulance, industrial medic, or advanced site-medical roles. Because it is significantly longer than AFA, part-time delivery lets candidates keep working while completing the classroom, practical and evaluation components. Your existing OFA 3 training carries forward as the foundational portion of the program.
Construction Safety Officer (CSO)
The ASTTBC-recognized 80-hour CSO program is also offered part-time for supervisors, foremen and tradespeople stepping into safety roles. Content is identical to the full-time cohort: WorkSafeBC regulations, hazard and risk assessment, site safety planning and documentation, worker orientations, inspections, incident investigation, confined space, lockout and fall protection.
Attendance, Deferrals and Employer Support
Because the material is cumulative, 100% attendance is required in every part-time cohort. If a work emergency forces you to miss a session, you will normally need to defer to a later cohort rather than make it up mid-program — one trade-off of the part-time format, and the reason we publish the full calendar before you commit. Employers training multiple staff can request a private part-time cohort, pay by invoice, or draw on company credits; our office can also stagger enrolments so a crew is never all in class at once.
Locations and Commuting
Part-time cohorts run from our Coquitlam classroom, which is the practical choice for evening sessions across the Lower Mainland: roughly 30 minutes from Surrey Centre via Highway 1 or the Pattullo, a short run from Burnaby along Lougheed, and accessible from Vancouver and Richmond outside peak traffic. Free on-site parking is available, and evening sessions deliberately start after typical trade shift end times.
How to Enrol
Pick a cohort from the upcoming dates below and register online, or contact our office if you need employer invoicing, want to hold seats for a crew, or need help choosing between the part-time and full-time route. If no cohort is currently listed for the program you need, contact us — we schedule new part-time intakes based on demand and can add you to the notification list for the next start date.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
UPCOMING DATES
READY TO ENROLL?
View upcoming dates and register for this course today.