Job safety a critical career decision

Take Our Kids to SAFE Work Day offers opportunity for safety and prevention awareness

Winnipeg- Workplace safety and health needs to be a priority when a young person makes a job or career decision, according to the partners behind SAFE Work.

SAFE Work is helping ensure that safety awareness plays a prominent role in today’s Take Our Kids to Work Day, which will see more than 13,000 young Manitobans job-shadow parents and other adults in most industries. As part of the safety awareness aspect of the day, SAFE Work wrist bands have been distributed to all of the province’s grade nine students.

According to Tom Farrell, Chairperson of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, it is crucial to instill a culture of safety within young people in order to keep them healthy in the future.

“In order for safety to become a personal priority for the workers of tomorrow, they must be aware of the importance of workplace safety today,” says Farrell, who was invited to speak  to Grade 9 students as part of the University of Manitoba’s Take Our Kids to Work Day program. “In fact, this event should be considered ‘Take Our Kids to SAFE Work Day’ around our province.”

Farrell adds that Take Our Kids to Work provides a timely opportunity for employers to talk to these students about safety and health at work. “SAFE Work’s youth strategy is targeted to employers and parents as well as the young workers. We hope that parents and employers will discuss safety issues with their children and young workers.”

SAFE Work’s most recent focus on young workers includes a fall public awareness campaign emphasizing the importance of workplace safety training and a web/radio contest featuring real life SAFE Work stories from youth.

The organizers of the University of Manitoba’s Take Our Kids to Work Day also stressed the importance of workplace safety to the visiting students.

“The University of Manitoba is committed to the safety, health and security of all staff, students and visitors to our campuses,” says Debbie McCallum, Vice-President of Administration. “For Take Our Kids to Work Day, we have included a safety and security component at the start of the day. This includes procedures to follow in the event of a fire alarm, how to contact assistance in an emergency and those areas on campus that have restricted access. We feel it is very important to help promote and encourage a culture of workplace health and safety among Manitoba’s young people.”

SAFE Work is an injury and illness prevention strategy developed by the Workers Compensation Board and the Workplace Safety and Health Division.

Take Our Kids to Work is organized by the Learning Partnership, a national non-profit group dedicated to creating learning and career opportunities through collaboration with education, business and community organizations. The annual job-shadowing day for students in grade nine across Canada offers them the chance to spend a day at work with a parent, friend, relative or volunteer host. Students go to a variety of workplaces ranging from family farms to photography and medical laboratories, welding shops, car dealerships, construction sites and high-technology facilities. About 14,000 Grade 9 students across Manitoba will participate this year.

Youth Injuries

• Young male workers, particularly those between the ages of 20 and 24, are at a greater risk of work-related injury.

• In 2006, 7.7 out of every 100 workers in this age category suffered an injury that caused them to be away from work, compared to the overall Manitoba injury rate of 4.5 out of every 100 workers.

• Youth in Manitoba have 16% of all injuries (6,032 young workers were injured in Manitoba in 2006).

• Youth are twice as likely to have time loss injuries involving open wounds and burns than experienced workers.

• Youth are twice as likely to injure their fingers, wrists/hands (time loss) than are experienced workers.

• Workers in the first six months on the job are twice as likely to have an injury.

Resources

A number of resources and training programs aimed specifically at youth are available to assist in reducing the risk of being injured on the job. These resources are available on the SAFE Work website at www.safemanitoba.com.

1. The SAFE Work Teacher and Student Guide is an instructor’s resource to helping young workers stay safe. An Employer Guide and Parent Guide are also available.

2. The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, Manitoba Public Insurance and the Province of Manitoba, Education Department developed An Average Day, a booklet intended to raise awareness about safety issues relating specifically to young workers. The goal is to have young people start thinking about all aspects of workplace safety, including:

• what to ask a potential employer regarding safety and training

• having a safe commute to and from work

• taking basic steps to improve safety on a daily basis, and

• rights and responsibilities of young workers, employers and supervisors

3. In addition, SAFE Workers of Tomorrow provides presentations to students in Manitoba at no cost to schools or school divisions.