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Major new initiatives aims to take the confusion out of health and safety training
19th March 2007
Health and safety training and development, across all UK industries, is to undergo a major review to remedy the current situation in which many employers, particularly SMEs, are confused by the mass of health and safety occupational standards and training courses...
They struggle to clearly understand the differences between the different programmes and this has discouraged their uptake and leads some employers to question their real value. The overall impact is that some employees are not receiving essential training in basic health and safety in the work place. Furthermore, the inability to make valid comparisons reduces the mobility of labour as employers cannot easily judge whether potential employees have appropriate knowledge in this key area.
Health and safety training and development, across all UK industries, is therefore to undergo a major review in a new initiative designed to streamline the number of courses and qualifications available.
The initiative has been based on an initial consultation involving 38 organisations with a particular interest in health and safety. Research has also confirmed that a major issue for employers is the low level of health and safety awareness of school leavers entering the work environment. Too many teenagers are vulnerable to accidents when they first enter employment because of this failure, and that is an area that will be addressed.
Proskills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the process manufacturing sector, is taking a lead role in this major review of health and safety training and qualifications on behalf of the Skills for Business Network of SSCs. The aim is to significantly simplify employers' ability to compare and evaluate the myriad of health and safety standards and training courses available and, where possible, streamline provision. .
The project will potentially result in the development of core entry-level qualifications and training courses that would be applicable across multiple industry sectors; courses that ultimately become integrated into the curricula for schools and other educational establishments, ensuring school-leavers and other new entrants to the work environment have attained a basic awareness of health and safety issues; promote sharing of best practice across apparently disparate sectors.
Proskills will establish a working group to provide a collective voice across the different industry sectors represented by the 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and will be supported by other key stakeholders from professional trade bodies, trade unions, safety organisations and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The project may also stimulate further initiatives by employers within different industry sectors to review more sector specific qualifications and courses in partnership with their SSC and other stakeholders.
Terry Watts, the CEO of Proskills, says: "Health and safety is given the highest priority by employers within the sectors which Proskills represents and so I felt that it was important for us to take a very active role in this initiative, which will ultimately help to raise safety standards across UK Plc. Employees will develop vital skills and achieve recognised qualifications, which will help place them in a new job, whilst employers will find the process of assessing and selecting training courses far more transparent."
James Barrett, Head of the Manufacturing Sector of the HSE, says: "I believe that Proskills is well-placed to represent the interests of the Sector Skills Council in this major new health and safety initiative. Health and safety is a key issue for the industries that Proskills represents and they have adopted a number of innovative approaches. For example, the quarrying and quarry products sector has recently achieved a 50 per cent reduction in incidents over a five-year period and made a commitment to improving the competence of the whole workforce."
Bernard Rutter, Head of Organising Learning and Skills for Amicus GPM Sector, the largest UK trade union representing employees in manufacturing industries, said "Amicus is strongly committed to effective health and safety training, and so we have a major interest in assisting and promoting this work. It will make it easier for employers to meet their responsibilities to train their workforce about hazards in the work environment and good health and safety practice. Well trained employees will be able to meet their responsibility to keep both themselves and their colleagues safe."
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