Safety Sense for Young Workers and Students
Young workers may lack safety sense and safety experience and are sometimes unfamiliar with workplace procedures. They sometimes don’t know what their rights are or are too shy or too frightened to speak up. Apprentices my be given dangerous jobs or jobs that older workers may not want to do. Older workers can not always be relied on to set a good example. Not only do young workers lack safety sense but their bodies and co-ordination may not yet be properly developed either.
Download Worksafe Safety Sense Checklist for Young Workers: [Download not found]
There have been many incidents where students were seriously injured while carrying out tasks during work experience assignments. These injuries occurred as a result of the students either being given dangerous work to do or being in the immediate vicinity of dangerous work. SEE WORKSAFE ALERT
The Department of Industrial Relation’s Workplace Health and Safety has developed Safety Sense to give secondary students in years 10, 11 and 12 the chance to explore workplace health and safety on the net. This general package is designed to help young people improve their knowledge and understanding of workplace health and safety issues before they enter the workplace. It is also useful for young people who are already in the workplace.
Safety Sense is a self-paced education program developed to broaden your knowledge of workplace health and safety. A range of issues are covered in this package, from farm safety and hazardous substances to machine guarding and noise. After successfully completing the questions, you become a graduate of the Safety Sense Program and receive a Workplace Health and Safety Certificate issued by the Department of Industrial Relations. There are 10 industry specific packages within the Safety Sense series, including health and safety in:
- Building and Construction;
- Community Services;
- Electrical and Electronics;
- Hairdressing;
- Hospitality and Tourism;
- Manufacturing;
- Metals and Engineering;
- Office and Business;
- Primary Industry / Natural Resources; and
- Retail.
The system is based on Worksafe WA Occupational Safety and Health system SMARTMOVE – view it here
