5 January 2020 posted by Recovery Partners

The health and safety training program you choose for your workforce must give your employees the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe and avoid workplace injury. The exact training that will be required depends on the workplace characteristics and the requirements of each specific job.

Training Requires Two-Way Communication

For training to be training and not just the provision of information, it must involve two-way communication between the trainer and the people who are learning. Both individuals must listen, think, ask questions, perform, and explain. If a program only involves your employees watching videos or listening to someone talk, that is not training!

Elements of a Good Health and Safety Training Program

The training provided by a good health and safety training program will invariably include all of the following elements:

  • Explaining
  • Providing practice opportunities
  • Demonstrating
  • Asking people questions about the material they are learning
  • Encouraging people to ask questions
  • Providing feedback on performance
  • Reviewing
  • Taking into consideration individuals’ literacy levels, cultural backgrounds, and English language proficiency
  • Encouraging self-evaluation of performance
  • Following up later on to discern whether learning has occurred and behaviour has changed accordingly.

You should ensure that the training program you select has all of the components listed above.

What is Competency Based Training?

It is best to look for a competency based training (CBT) health and safety program. In a CBT health and safety program, your employees will gain the knowledge and skills they require to perform their work safely. The CBT program you choose for your employees must be geared to the tasks they must do in their jobs and your workplace’s performance standards.

Recovery Partners Manual HandlingWHS Consultation, and Customised Induction Programs all follow this methodology.

Knowledge and skills are equally important in CBT programs. Your employees must learn how to apply the knowledge they gain in the program in their work. CBT programs have the following features:

  • It recognises the knowledge and skills that employees already have
  • There is a clear statement of the outcomes that will be achieved as a result of training
  • The trainer demonstrates flexibility with regard to how, when, and where the training takes place
  • The trainer keeps a record of all training and achievement
  • Assessment to ensure that all workers learn what they need to is carried out by the trainer.

CBT training builds on the knowledge and skills employees already have. To ensure that this takes place, the trainer needs to identify each person’s knowledge and skills. Assessing what a person already knows and the skills they already have will ensure that the training will be a good “fit” for the individual.

A CBT program focuses on what the workers will do with the knowledge and skills they gain. The program’s outcomes must, therefore be directly relevant to the workplace and health and safety. The program’s outcomes must be made clear at the very start of the training program. This is necessary to ensure that all participants are aware of the workplace’s performance standards and everything expected of them. Clear outcomes are also a key factor in the facilitation of proper assessment.

There should be flexibility in where the training is held. Some of the options in terms of places where it can be carried out include the immediate work area, a college, a training room in the workplace, or a computer terminal. Employers can request the place that is most convenient for their employees and themselves.

Choose the Best Health and Safety Program for Your Employees?

Use the information you have learned here and your own additional research on specific options to find the best health and safety program for your workplace.

At Recovery Partners, our team of experienced safety professionals are dedicated to providing tailored Work Health and Safety Training Programs across Australia. 

 

Our services are available nationwide. For more information about our services contact us.

Our consultants love to have a chat, so go ahead and give us a call on 1300 OHS RTW (647 789) or email enquiries@rrp.com.au

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 References

Organising health and safety training for your workplace

 

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Disclaimer – these articles are provided to supply general safety information to people responsible for OHS in their organisation. They are general in nature and do not substitute for legal and/or professional advice. We always suggest that organisations obtain information specific to their needs. Additional information can be found at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/