WorkSafeBC launches safety resource website for apprentices

WorkSafeBC has launched a new online tool that will provide new and young workers with all the resources they need to stay safe and healthy at work.

The new Apprenticeship Portal is a leading edge web-based health and safety resource for apprentices and those working in the trades. WorkSafeBC hopes the site will help promote workplace safety among more than 2,000 youth apprentices in B.C.
“We needed to find a way to ensure that everyone involved with apprentices would have a single source they could go to for the most current, up-to-date health and safety resources,” says Trudi Rondou, WorkSafeBC manager of Young and New Worker Programs. “With more than 2,000 youth apprentices in B.C., the portal is a response to that need.”

The carpentry, electrician, and plumbing trades are currently represented on the site, with a plan to include the professional cook and automotive service technician trades in the near future.

Teachers, students, employers, and apprentices can instantly access health and safety regulations, guidelines, videos, publications, articles, posters, safety meeting guides, and more.

Rod Goy, dean of the School of Construction and the Environment at British Columbia Institute of Technology, welcomed the new site emphasizing the importance of learning about workplace safety at an early stage.

"Student safety in our programs and in the workforce is our number one priority. Alongside WorkSafeBC and the Industry Training Authority (ITA), we want to make sure we are providing industry in B.C. with workers who know the correct safety procedures so they can have long, healthy, safe careers and pass this knowledge on to future apprentices," says Goy. “This web portal is another very valuable tool to help students locate the health and safety resources they need.”

The ITA is a Crown agency responsible for setting standards and providing oversight of the province’s apprenticeship system.

"The very first requirement employers have of any new apprentice is a sound understanding of workplace safety,” says Kevin Evans, CEO of the ITA. “This new resource will enhance employability in addition to making for safer workplaces.”

The Apprenticeship Portal can be found here: http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/Apprenticeships/Home.asp

WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.2 million workers and more than 200,000 employers.