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Keep skills fresh

Skills decay without use. Plan renewal and refreshers just as you plan filter changes.

How

1. Put certificate renewals in the calendar: for example, American Red Cross first aid certificates last two years (US) and most Canadian Red Cross certificates three years.
2. Plan refreshers for high-risk tools: UK HSE recommends chainsaw refresher training about every five years and refreshing training when equipment or methods change.
3. Do short practice often: the CPR study above found a few minutes of video plus practice restored skills that had decayed.
4. Re-run the skills audit every year (skills-1), update the coverage percentage and set next year's plan.
5. Rotate primary and backup roles so both people stay current.
6. Include skills in the annual review (living-21).

Do these first

• living-21

Sources

1. Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED (class page). American Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
2. Which types of certifications are offered?. Canadian Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
3. Chainsaw training (FISA refresher scheme). Forestry England, accessed 2026-11
4. Work equipment: training and competence. UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), accessed 2026-11
5. Keeping Bystanders Active: Resuscitating Resuscitation Skills (Maass et al., 2019). Frontiers in Public Health, accessed 2026-11
6. Spacing and retrieval practice guide. Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), accessed 2026-11

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