Basic Health and Safety Awareness Training is Required for Everyone

It is not entirely accurate to say that there are no legislated training requirements for non-certified health and safety committee members; there are no legislated committee-specific training requirements. However, like all workers, non-certified committee members must complete basic health and safety awareness training. For example, in Ontario, all workers must complete workplace-specific WHMIS training, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities training (AODA), workplace-specific violence and harassment training, and basic worker or supervisor awareness training. These basic trainings certainly represent a solid foundation when it comes to health and safety basics, but they do not address the roles and responsibilities of a health and safety committee member or provide information required to be an effective committee member.

What is Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training?

Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training has an important role to play in the overall effectiveness of the committee. In Ontario, JHSC Certification training is an intense, five-day endeavor that covers health and safety theory, hazard recognition, assessment, control, and evaluation, and how to run an effective JHSC. Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training is not as in-depth. It’s an online course that covers the information needed to make every member – even those who are not certified – effective members of the health and safety committee.

Why Complete Online Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training?

Some employers value certification training and offer the full training to every member of the committee. That’s the best-case scenario; however, it’s also very expensive and disruptive to production schedules. Having non-certified members on the committee complete Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training (as opposed to not completing any training at all) is considered to be best practice in the health and safety industry. Here are the top five reasons to complete Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training:

Increased Efficiency of the Committee: One of the top reason employers put committee members through Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training, is so that they have a solid foundational knowledge of the JHSC’s functions so that they can contribute to its efficiency and effectiveness.

Minimal Impact on Production: In Ontario, full JHSC certification requires five days of training. If you have several members to train, production is going to take a hit. Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training is an online alternative that allows workers to receive important training, but to quickly be back on the job where you need them. It also affords flexibility for trainees, allowing them to train anytime, anywhere.

Cost Effective: Training budgets are a reality, and unfortunately for most companies, they are not very big, and five full days of training is expensive. An online Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training option for non-certified members might fit better into the training budget. It may also provide opportunities to train more workers to ensure the smooth running of the health and safety committee.

Increased Employee Engagement: Sometimes, health and safety training ignites a passion for safe workplaces that learners were unaware they had. The more excited and passionate members are about workplace safety, the more effective your health and safety committee will be. Most employees respond positively to opportunities to grow and advance within their roles, and offering committee-specific training, even to non-certified members, is a great way to drive engagement.

Safer Work Environment: At the end of the day, the primary goal of the health and safety committee is creating a safer work environment. It’s shared by non-certified and certified members, managers, employers, and workers alike. Ensuring that non-certified members receive training will help ensure that this goal is met on an ongoing basis.

Online Learning Enterprises Can Help! 

Online Learning Enterprises offers an online Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training: Non-Certified Health and Safety Committee Training. To learn more about this course, click here. Or, call 877-652-5262 today to speak to a health and safety advisor.