Safe Workers Aren’t Born, They’re Trained

Safe Workers Aren’t Born, They’re Trained

Posted on July 9, 2019

By Jovana Tosovic, Safety Trainer

Growing up in Canada as a first-generation immigrant, I was exposed to the harsh reality of unsafe jobs through my parent’s experiences at work. Being new to Canada with minimal English language skills, my parents were not comfortable stepping up to demand proper safety training nor any fundamental worker rights for that matter. “Do the job if you want to keep your job” was the mentality their employer had.

Fast forward to my first job, I was also welcomed with a similar attitude. Minimal training, yet my employer expected me to know how to properly do the job. I would reluctantly do as I was told and had no idea about my worker rights. I became miserable and did not feel like a valued member of the team. I was not confident in my skills and contributed to a negative safety culture alongside my co-workers.

It was these experiences that led me to pursue my Occupational Health and Safety Certificate at Red River College, where I was made aware of Canada’s changing Health and Safety landscape. There is a growing and developing need for safety professionals in companies to ensure workers went home safely to their loved ones.

Through experiencing my parents’ struggles with training as well as my own and by taking the Health and Safety program, I am now able to see the importance of proper health and safety training before beginning any work. After all, sending someone in to do a job they are not trained for, is like sending in a young child to do the same job.

SAFE Work Manitoba’s ‘Safe Workers Aren’t Born, They’re Trained’ campaign uses an impactful metaphor to illustrate the importance of training new employees to do their job safely. While the campaign raises important points, here are five of my own reasons to train your team:

Keep your workers safe

Your workers come to work expecting they will go back home to their family and friends at the end of their shift. Proper safety training will ensure workers know how to do their job properly, identify hazards and how to adequately protect themselves from any hazards.

Increased productivity and fewer costs

Every injury and illness costs companies time and money. Safety training saves hours lost to injury and illness, reduces expenses resulting from health and safety violations and prevents increases to your WCB premiums. This works when there is a hazard mitigation system where workers are trained to be able to recognize any potential risks and hazards at the workplace.

Workers of the same caliber

When you have untrained workers, it takes them longer to complete the same task that an experienced/trained worker would. This results in the experienced workers working harder to pick up the slack. When workers rush, this can result in injuries on the job. It is best for all workers to be trained for the job, so all workers have a similar skill and knowledge level.

Positive safety culture and company image

When a company dedicates time to train their employees adequately before work, such as teaching safe work procedures, employees see that the company is investing in them. Employees feel like a valued member of the team. Culture, retention and a host of other benefits follow.

Comply with the law

The Manitoba Health and Safety Act states that it is the duty of the employer to provide to all his workers such information, instruction, training, supervision and facilities to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of all his workers.

 

 

Made Safe offers more than 30 courses. To learn more about health and safety training designed and delivered specifically to meet the needs of the manufacturing work environment, connect with us today!