The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) are set to launch a new level one qualification that is specifically aimed at entry level employees in businesses.
The half-day qualification delivers an awareness of key health and safety issues to educate employees on how to keep themselves and others free from harm at work.
An estimated 1.6 million accidents occur in the workplace every year.
The new level one qualification has been created to benefit those who are starting a new job and is designed to slot seamlessly into induction programmes.
A key consideration in the design of the new qualification for the CIEH has been simplicity and their aim with this particular qualification was to ensure the entire workforce could achieve a basic level of understanding of health and safety.
This new qualification can also be applied in schools and can fit well into the curriculum.
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With the call last week for health and safety training to become part of school life from MP Michael Clapham, MP for Barnsley West and Penistone and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health the introduction is very timely.
With over 15,000 young people being injured in the workplace in the past five years, there is a real need to educate students at school or at entry level to the workplace