Civilian‑Focused Safety, Risk Management & Medical Preparedness
Hostile Environment Awareness Training HEAT & HEAT+
Practical, civilian-focused training that prepares people to operate safely, responsibly and confidently in unstable, unpredictable or high-risk environments — recognising threats early and responding proportionately. Take the core HEAT course on its own, or pair it with a regulated medical qualification at the level your role demands.
Awareness first, intervention second
Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) prepares individuals to operate safely, responsibly and confidently in unstable, unpredictable or high-risk environments. It develops situational awareness, risk management, safe behaviour and clear decision-making under pressure, so participants can recognise threats early and respond proportionately.
HEAT can be taken on its own as a three-day course, or combined with a regulated medical qualification — from workplace first aid through to advanced pre-hospital care — depending on the role. Training is non-military throughout and centres on avoidance, de-escalation, communication and professional conduct, not tactical response. The aim is not only individual confidence, but stronger organisational resilience and reduced operational risk, supporting an organisation’s duty-of-care obligations across diverse deployment environments.
Designed and delivered by instructors with British military and UK policing backgrounds — first-hand experience of operating in challenging environments, not classroom theory alone.
Operational competencies (every pathway)
Whether taken on its own or with a medical qualification, every option delivers the same three-day HEAT foundation. Graduates can identify and reduce exposure to risk while carrying out humanitarian, media, development or corporate roles — conducting themselves safely at checkpoints, maintaining situational awareness, managing field movement responsibly, and responding to emergencies without escalating danger.
- Risk and journey management
- Situational awareness and threat recognition
- Personal safety and avoidance strategies
- Checkpoint interaction and safe conduct
- Travel and accommodation safety
- Communication in low-resource environments
- Cultural awareness and safe community engagement
- Stress management and calm decision-making
HEAT alone, or HEAT plus a medical qualification
Take the core three-day HEAT course on its own, or add a regulated medical qualification — a recognised workplace first-aid certificate, a pre-hospital trauma qualification, or advanced pre-hospital emergency care. The day total for each option is the three-day HEAT course plus the length of the medical qualification.
HEAT (Standalone)
The core HEAT course on its own — situational awareness, risk management and safe conduct, with no regulated medical qualification attached.
Medical
- Awareness only — no medical qualification
- Add FAW, FPOSi or FREC if your role needs a certified medical capability
HEAT + FAW
3 + 3 = 6 days
Core awareness paired with the most widely recognised workplace first-aid qualification, for roles where a certified first aider is required.
Medical — First Aid at Work (Level 3, RQF)
- CPR and AED use
- Management of bleeding and shock
- Immediate management of anaphylaxis
- Heat and cold injury management
- Casualty assessment
- Stabilisation while awaiting assistance
HEAT+ (with FPOSi)
3 + 4 = 7 days
Trauma capability beyond basic first aid — scene safety and casualty management under pressure in remote or resource-limited settings.
Medical — First Person on Scene (International) (QNUK Level 3, RQF)
- Scene safety and dynamic risk assessment
- Primary survey and structured casualty assessment
- Trauma and airway management
- Catastrophic bleeding control
- Shock management
- Awareness of ballistic and blast injuries
- Monitoring and handover to higher care
HEAT+ (with FREC 3)
3 + 5 = 8 days
Advanced pre-hospital emergency care for remote, austere or high-risk deployments — the recognised entry point to the UK pre-hospital care progression route.
Medical — First Response Emergency Care (Qualsafe Level 3, RQF)
- Advanced trauma management
- Airway adjuncts (OPA / NPA) and oxygen therapy
- Medical emergencies (cardiac, respiratory, diabetic, neurological)
- Patient assessment and monitoring
- Remote and austere care
- Extended casualty management
- Clinical handover to ambulance or higher care
How the three compare
FAW is a UK Level 3 regulated qualification (RQF), recognised internationally and suitable for deployments where a certified first aider is required. It is a standalone workplace qualification.
FPOSi — the QNUK Level 3 Award for the First Person on Scene (International) — is a four-day qualification a level above FAW, focused on trauma, scene safety and casualty management under pressure. Developed for close protection and high-risk environments, it covers ballistic and blast injury awareness and meets the SIA first-aid requirement for Close Protection. It is respected internationally as a strong pre-hospital trauma qualification, but is a standalone award — it is not part of the UK ambulance or paramedic progression route.
FREC 3 — the Qualsafe Level 3 Award in First Response Emergency Care — is a five-day advanced pre-hospital care qualification. It is recognised by the SIA for Close Protection licensing and endorsed by the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care at PHEM level D, and provides the skills to support casualties for extended periods in remote or hostile environments. It is also the recognised entry point to the UK pre-hospital care career pathway set out below.
Where FREC 3 can lead
FREC 3 is the first rung of a recognised UK pre-hospital care career ladder. A learner who wants to follow that route can progress — separately, over time and through approved providers — as follows:
FREC 3 → FREC 4 → FREC 5 → QA Level 6 Diploma in Paramedic Practice, which leads to registration as an HCPC-registered Paramedic in the UK.
This is an onward career pathway only. The HEAT + FREC 3 programme delivers the FREC 3 qualification; it does not deliver FREC 4, FREC 5 or the paramedic diploma. Those are separate qualifications a learner would pursue independently if they chose that career path.
Armed protection alongside the team
HEAT keeps the NGO worker, journalist or corporate traveller safe through awareness and avoidance — they remain unarmed. But many high-risk deployments also rely on a close-protection element: the trained, armed professional whose role is to protect those very people. That capability is the other half of operating safely in a hostile environment, and it is one most civilian HEAT providers do not offer.
Our firearms training sits alongside HEAT for exactly this reason, in three routes. It is not tactical or offensive instruction, and confers no legal authority; firearms licensing rests with the relevant national authority.
Foundational — Weapons Competency
From scratch, on the main weapon system (generally the AK47, 7.62mm). Safe handling, range safety and assessed competency, with no tactical element.
Operator — Weapons Safety & Standards
Main weapon and 9mm sidearm to operator standard — discipline, safe handling and movement, working safely around others, and the legal framework.
Sidearm Only
A standalone 9mm sidearm / secondary-weapon course — safe handling, range safety and assessed competency on the sidearm alone.
A separate, optional capability
The firearms routes are for designated protection personnel only and sit entirely outside the civilian HEAT course. Full detail, content and the lawful-conduct framework are set out on the dedicated programme page.
Minefield, vehicle strike & casualty evacuation
For the highest-risk deployments into mine- and IED-affected ground, an optional two-day bolt-on covers recognition, actions-on and casualty evacuation. It is delivered at awareness and survival level, through scenario-based exercises, and the detailed drills are taught in person under supervision.
- Mine, UXO and IED recognition and ground indicators
- Actions-on entering or discovering a suspected mined area
- Controlled minefield extraction principles
- Vehicle mine / IED strike — immediate actions and safe response
- Anti-personnel mine-strike casualty extraction
- Casualty evacuation from contaminated ground
Where the line sits
This bolt-on is awareness, actions-on and casualty evacuation only. It does not cover mine clearance, disposal, render-safe or any explosive-ordnance-disposal content. Its purpose is to keep people alive in mine-affected ground and get casualties out — not to handle or defeat devices.
A civilian programme at its core
The HEAT pathways are non-military throughout. They centre on avoidance, de-escalation, communication and professional conduct, preparing participants to operate safely, ethically and responsibly during humanitarian, development, media and corporate deployments in volatile or high-risk environments. The firearms routes and the mine / vehicle-strike bolt-on are separate, optional capabilities for designated protection personnel and the highest-risk deployments only.
Overseas students
For students travelling to Uganda to attend, a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for entry to Uganda. Confirm entry and visa requirements on our visa requirements page before booking.
Enquire about HEAT & HEAT+
Talk to the team about dates, group bookings and organisational duty-of-care packages.
Continue Your Journey With Us
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