Statistics: UK Emergency Responder Qualification Data
Feb 27, 2022STATISTICAL BULLETIN
This statistical bulletin includes data on the number of emergency response-related qualifications awarded in England, Wales, and Scotland. Significant inconsistencies exist between awarding organisations' annual and impact reporting from the data produced by Ofqual, SQA and Qualification Wales.
Unfortunately, neither awarding organisation nor data from the three regional regulators can be considered to be comprehensive. Steps should be taken to improve the accuracy of aquatic workforce datasets to improve aquatic safety and drowning prevention impact measurement.
Below is the data published by the three regional regulators.
Table 1: Emergency responder-related qualification data 2017-2020 in Great Britain as reported by Ofqual, SQA and Qualification Wales
| Qualification | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
| STA | 8,735 | 8,008 | 7,261 | 4,100 | 28,104 |
Table 2: Emergency responder-related qualification data 2012-2020 in England as reported by OfQual
| Qualification | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
| STA Level 2 Award in Safety Award for Teachers | - | - | - | 2,165 | 4,795 | 5,690 | 5,205 | 4,750 | 2,635 | 25,240 |
| STA Level 2 Award for Pool Emergency Responder | 540 | 850 | 1,345 | 1,495 | 1,520 | 2,065 | 2,090 | 1,750 | 1,150 | 12,805 |
| STA Level 1 Award in Pool Emergency Procedures | 645 | 1,780 | 3,090 | 1,695 | 55 | - | - | - | - | 7,265 |
| STA Level 2 Certificate for the National Rescue Standard | 1,770 | 530 | - | - | 85 | 115 | - | - | - | 2,500 |
| Total | 2,955 | 3,160 | 4,435 | 5,355 | 6,455 | 7,870 | 7,295 | 6,500 | 3,785 | 47,810 |
Table 3: Emergency responder-related qualification data 2015-2021 in Wales as reported by Qualifications Wales
| Qualification | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total |
| STA Level 2 Award for Pool Emergency Responder | 185 | 225 | 250 | 260 | 285 | 125 | 255 | 1,585 |
| STA Level 2 Award in Safety Award for Teachers | 205 | 380 | 415 | 400 | 465 | 190 | 490 | 2,545 |
| STA Level 1 Award in Pool Emergency Procedures | 150 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160 |
| STA Level 2 Certificate for the National Rescue Standard | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| STA Level 2 Award in Pool Emergency Procedures | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 540 | 620 | 675 | 660 | 750 | 315 | 745 | 4,305 |
Table 4: Emergency responder-related qualification data 2017-2021 in Scotland as reported by the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA)
| Qualification | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total |
| STA Professional Award for Pool Responder at SCQF Level 7 | 174 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 207 |
Table 5: Emergency responder-related qualification data 2012-2020 in Northern Ireland as reported by the CCEA
| Qualification | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
| STA Level 2 Award for Pool Emergency Responder | 3 | 8 | - | 6 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 11 | - | 68 |
| Total | 3 | 39 | 83 | 41 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 11 | - | 217 |
References
CCEA. 2022. Technical and professional qualification bulletins Q3 2021 full dataset. Available at: https://ccea.org.uk/regulation/reports-statistics/technical-and-professional-qualification-bulletins/browse-all accessed 26 February 2022.
SQA. 2022. Quarterly and Annual Statistics Reports. Available at: https://accreditation.sqa.org.uk/accreditation/Research_and_Statistics/Quarterly_and_Annual_Statistics_Reports accessed 26 February 2022.
OfQual. 2022. Statistics. Data on vocational and other qualifications. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-vocational-qualifications accessed 26 February 2022.
Qualifications Wales. 2022. Vocational and Other Qualifications 2021 for Wales. Available at: https://qualificationswales.org/english/publications/vocational-and-other-qualifications-quarterly-quarter-4-october---december-2021-for-wales/ accessed 26 February 2022.
Citation: Jacklin, D. 2022. Emergency responder qualification data in the UK. Water Incident Research Hub, 26 February.
