Students encouraged to participate in career safety program for prize money

Schools and teachers are encouraged to enter their students into a contest around workplace safety that could see the winner or winners win a grand prize of $3,000.

The Saskatchewan Safety Council is again sponsoring Career Safety Education, a free safety training program applicable to all youth ages 14 to 21 in Saskatchewan.

The contest will feature two winners. The grand prize is $3,000, while a secondary prize features $1,500, awarded to the winning groups or schools on Oct. 21. To enter the contest, schools or teachers can register in it and have a class, or classes, each with a minimum of 10 students, complete Career Safety Education by Friday, Oct. 18. Career Safety Education is the result of a strategic alliance of organizations that the Saskatchewan Safety Council brought together in an effort to provide every Saskatchewan youth between 14 and 21 years of age with free industry-focused safety education, according to a news release.

This contest includes training in worker rights and responsibilities through the Young Worker Readiness Course (WorkSafe), recognizing stress, improving Mental Health: through Wellness Training (SASW In Health), training in basic chemical safety through WHMIS 2015 (Saskatchewan Safety Council), and one standardized industry-focused safety orientation on:

• Agriculture: Online Agriculture Training System – Saskatchewan Safety Council

• Heavy Construction, Earthmoving and, Roadbuilding: Roadbuilders Safety Training System – Heavy Construction Safety Association of Saskatchewan

• Construction and Trades: Saskatchewan Construction Orientation Training – Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association

• Health Care: Workplace Assessment and Violence Education – Saskatchewan Association of Safe Workplaces in Health

“Educators pour all their time and energy into their classrooms each year. We are appreciative of all the hard work that goes into sculpting young brains into safe young adults,” said Amanda LePine, community relations co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan Safety Council. “Educators are safety champions. Their students will learn how to recognize hazards, see the importance of safety, develop risk analysis skills that will be of benefit their whole lives.”

The programs represent about six to eight hours of training for which there are many curriculum connections, the news release said. After completion of each of the programs listed, a certificate is given to the student that may be printed and used to enhance their resumés.

“Safety training certification enriches the resumés of young people and separates their job applications from the rest of those in the pile on the desk from (those) who have not participated in such programs,” said LePine. “It may mean the difference between landing a job you want or taking the only job you can get.”

More courses are currently being developed for Career Safety Education, which will result in safety training opportunities applicable to a broader variety of industries that youth may encounter.

To learn more about Career Safety Education, visit www.careersafetyeducation.ca.