Assessing occupational health and safety of young workers who use youth employment centers

BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults who are out of school are at elevated risk for a work injury. METHODS: To obtain more information on this 'high risk' group of young workers, young people at youth employment centers across Ontario were asked through an online survey about training, unsafe work conditions, work injuries and safety knowledge. RESULTS: The 1,886 youth who completed the survey reported a medically attended work injury rate of 14.45 per 100 FTEs. Also, the most common unsafe work conditions were dust/particles, trip hazards and heavy lifting. In addition, many young workers reported using much of their income for living essentials (e.g., rent). CONCLUSIONS: Though not a representative sample, it appears that youth using employment centers experience many unsafe work conditions and work injuries. While many report safety training, the nature and effectiveness of this training remains to be determined. The large portion of young workers out of school and working for living essentials included in this sample suggest that youth employment centers should be considered in future prevention efforts targeting this vulnerable subgroup of workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. (c) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc