Safety training

From work-site safety orientation for new workers to formal training for certification, safety education is integral to your work and career.

Supervisors are responsible for informing you of safety risks and hazards and ensuring that you are provided with the training to do your job safely.

Specific training items are referred to in the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

The PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted) presents courses in some safety topics, but each workplace will also have specific requirements. 

Safety training opportunities are outlined below:

• Ergonomics
• Incident investigations
• Emergency wardens orientation
• Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee
• Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
• New and young worker training
• OHS De-escalation Techniques and Personal Safety Strategies - Workplace Violence Prevention
• OHS Mitigating Workplace Violence
• OHS for Supervisors
• OHS Co-Chair Training

Ergonomics

Employee and supervisor education and training in ergonomics reduce workplace injuries. 

Every workplace should have an in-house ergonomic assessor to help with workstation setups and evaluations.

The Learning Centre offers the online Ergonomics Training and Assessment Program and the one-day BCGEU/BC Public Service Agency jointly facilitated course, OHS Office Ergonomics Risk Assessment.

Register at the PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted).

Incident investigations

Incident prevention and investigations are important tools in workplace illness and injury prevention.

Following an incident, investigators gather key pieces of information and try to identify contributing factors and root causes.

The Learning Centre offers this incident investigation course:

• OHS Incident Investigations (IDIR restricted) 

Emergency wardens orientation

This introduction to emergency preparedness, response plan requirements and hazard identification clarifies your roles as a member of an emergency response team.

Register for the Emergency Wardens Training (IDIR restricted) webinar.

Review Emergency wardens on Careers & MyHR for more information about the roles and responsibilities.

OHS – Joint committee training

A Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) monitors the workplace safety program and ensures open communication between workers and the employer on safety issues.

The Learning Centre offers a BCGEU/BC Public Service Agency jointly facilitated 2-day occupational health and safety committee training course.

The course goes over the safety roles and responsibilities of those employees (and alternates) appointed to the JOHSC and should be completed within 6 months of their appointment.

After the initial training, committee members are entitled to annual educational leave of 8 hours per year for continued safety learning.

Register at the PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted).

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

Some workplaces have hazardous materials that are restricted, controlled or prohibited by federal legislation.

In these workplaces, WorkSafeBC requires Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training and education. 

The basic WHMIS education e-course (IDIR restricted) is made up of 7 modules.

Topics include:

• The hazards of controlled products and where to get information about them
• How to protect yourself and co-workers
• What to do if a spill occurs

The final module is an online quiz.

If you have a passing score of 70 percent or above, a certificate will appear on-screen for you to print off and present to your supervisor. 

If you fail the quiz, review the WHMIS training materials and try again.

New and young worker training

A 'new' worker is any worker who is:

• New to the workplace
• Returning to a workplace where the hazards in that workplace have changed during the worker's absence
• Affected by a change in the workplace hazards
• Relocated to a new workplace if the hazards in that workplace are different from the hazards in the worker's previous workplace

A 'young' worker is any worker who is under 25 years of age.  

WorkSafeBC requires all employers to provide appropriate orientation and training to new and young workers.

The orientation and training provided depend on workplace circumstances:

• A new hire will require a complete orientation before beginning work
• A returning worker will require information on new hazards and possibly a review of other items on the orientation checklist
• An existing employee will require additional training when a change to the workplace environment or processes creates additional hazards

The New Worker Orientation Guidelines (PDF, 70KB) includes a checklist of items that must be included in the training and can be further customized to your workplace.

Review the WorkSafeBC requirements for young and new worker orientation and training.

OHS De-escalation Techniques and Personal Safety Strategies: Workplace Violence Prevention

This course will assist workplaces in meeting some of the requirements of the Workers Compensation Board Occupational Safety and Health Regulation.

This course is designed to provide staff with skills and training to deal with the risk of potential violence in the workplace.

It's strongly recommended for employees dealing directly with the public.

Register at the PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted).

OHS Mitigating Workplace Violence

British Columbia employers are required to conduct a risk assessment where risk of injury from violence exists. The risk assessment must meet the requirements of the Workers Compensation Board Occupational Safety and Health Regulation.

This 1-day course is designed to provide participants with the knowledge, skills and tools to conduct effective workplace violence risk assessments where required. In addition the participant will be able to recommend control measures to eliminate or reduce the potential for workplace violence.

Supervisors are advised to take the online OHS for Supervisors course before attending OHS Incident Investigations or OHS Mitigating Workplace Violence sessions.

Register at the PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted).

OHS for Supervisors

All supervisors in the BC Public Service need to know their fundamental responsibilities for preventing workplace injuries and responding to safety incidents. This is true no matter where you work, how many people you supervise, or whether you manage an in-person, mixed location or fully remote team: safety is an integral part of how you manage your workplace.

The course is not mandatory but is highly recommended, especially as a companion to other core safety training like the OHS Joint Committee Training sessions.

Whether you are new to supervising a team or simply need a refresher on the fundamentals of workplace safety, this course is for you. OHS for Supervisors covers your safety responsibilities, how to identify and manage workplace hazards, orient and train your employees to work safely, manage and investigate safety incidents, prepare written safety instructions, find safety information online through Careers & MyHR and more.

Register at the PSA Learning System (IDIR restricted).

OHS Co-Chair Training

Additional training to the OHS Committee Training course, which addresses co-chair specifics in relation to OHS leadership, resourcing, planning, actioning and meeting dynamics, all for the purpose of enhancing OHS Committee effectiveness.

Register at the LearningHub (IDIR restricted).