Health and safety training
IWH research on occupational health and safety (OHS) training focuses on its effectiveness—from the effectiveness of delivery methods and contents to the effectiveness of training programs overall. OHS training, mandated by workplace health and safety laws in jurisdictions across Canada and beyond, is considered an important part of managing workplace hazards and risks. Such training may involve instruction on identifying occupational risks and how to control them, learning about safe workplace practices and how to properly use personal protective equipment.
Featured
![Roofers Tied Off with Nail Gunbooth IHSA](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_6_col_wide/public/iwh/images/roofers_harness_ihsa.jpg?h=3934c2f4&itok=6_M8n454)
Impact case study
IWH evaluation of the effectiveness of the Ontario working-at-heights training standard
An IWH study on the effectiveness of Ontario's mandatory training was valuable to the labour ministry in several ways—including in reinforcing the value of program evaluations.
Published: November 21, 2023
![A residential home in mid-build is surrounded by scaffolding](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_6_col_wide/public/iwh/images/home_construction_site.jpg?h=fe157144&itok=r1P-Ch7q)
At Work article
Safer work practices, lower injury rates maintained two years after Ontario’s working-at-heights training came into effect: study
In 2015, the Ontario government implemented a working-at-heights (WAH) training standard to ramp up fall prevention efforts. An IWH study team has now gathered two additional years of data on the effectiveness of this training requirement—both on work practices and injury rates.
Published: November 3, 2023
![A worker guides a crane lifting concrete at a construction site](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/construction_site_hoist_rig_0.jpg?h=1a32f215&itok=f96ZJObe)
At Work article
Embedding essential skills training in OHS lessons can boost learning: study
The work of rigging and hoisting loads comes with significant hazard. Adding to the injury prevention challenge is the fact that many people doing this work have literacy and numeracy skills gaps. A recent IWH study tried out a novel approach to address these learning needs.
Published: April 2018
![Graphic of cranes hoisting letters in word learning](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/graphic_overhead_cranes_moving_letters_learning.jpg?h=7edfda20&itok=TrxLygBy)
Tools and guides
Essential Skills and OHS Training
This guide, based on a research collaboration led by the Institute for Work & Health, provides an overview of the process involved in modifying the curriculum of an existing occupational health and safety (OHS) training program in order to address gaps in essential skills among worker trainees.
Published: April 2018
Project report
Project report
Safe employment integration of recent immigrants and refugees
This report details the findings of an Institute for Work & Health study on employment preparation process of newcomers in Ontario, with the aim of determining key training and resource needs and opportunities related to safely integrating recent immigrants and refugees into the labour market.
Published: March 2018
![Two smiling women at the airport](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/two_newcomers_Toronto_airport_0.jpg?h=1fc25a8c&itok=KSwB2PoD)
At Work article
Newcomers often lack OHS protection and information in their precarious first jobs
They face difficulty finding work, due to language barriers, foreign credentials or lack of Canadian experience. Their first jobs are precarious, sometimes unpaid. To top it off, they receive next to no training on OHS and employment standards issues, as a new IWH study has found.
Published: February 2018
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IWH in the media
New immigrants vulnerable to workplace accidents
New arrivals in Canada face additional vulnerabilities on the job, according to studies by Institute for Work and Health (IWH) in Toronto, writes Ian Harvey.
Published: Daily Commercial News, January 2018
![Workers of various ethnicities pose happily with their work team](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/work_team_various_ethnicities.jpg?h=e865d0b4&itok=YMmZ378j)
Impact case study
Concerns about newcomers’ safety at work lead organizations to IWH toolkit
Organizations working with recent immigrants are incorporating parts of the Institute's toolkit for teaching newcomers about workplace health and safety into their programming. Organizations in Ontario, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and even as far away as Australia, say the resource is just what they were looking for.
Published: December 2017
![Equipment Journal logo](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/equipment_journal.png?h=84071268&itok=eSstJ9BS)
IWH in the media
Ontario plans to review Working at Heights training
“Working at heights is one of the most dangerous types of work in the construction sector,” says Dr. Cameron Mustard, president and senior scientist, Institute for Work & Health, in an article on Ontario's plans to review working-at-heights training standards. “By working with stakeholders to evaluate the WAH standards, we will help ensure construction workers are protected on the job and will return home safely at the end of each workday.”
Published: Equipment Journal, December 2017
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Addressing essential skills gaps in an OHS training program: a pilot study
Can an occupational health and safety (OHS) training program be improved by modifying it to address gaps in essential skills? In a recent study, a research team led by Dr. Ron Saunders modified a hoisting and rigging training program offered by the LIUNA Local 506 training centre. The changes were made to address trainees’ skills gaps in numeracy and document use that were related to the job. In this plenary, the team share findings regarding the effect of modifying the curriculum on trainee learning and discuss suggestions for improving training efforts within the construction sector.
Published: November 2017
![View of training room from the back](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/training_room_crowd.jpg?h=ea5e6a42&itok=ZKGSpmwh)
At Work article
IWH study examines effect of Ontario’s mandatory OHS training on awareness
On July 1, 2014, a new occupational health and safety requirement took effect in Ontario. An IWH research team conducted a study on differences in OHS awareness before and after the requirement took effect. Read about the findings.
Published: November 2017
![Canadian Occupational Safety logo](/sites/iwh/files/styles/bootstrap_4_col_widescreen/public/iwh/images/canadian_occupational_safety_logo.png?h=84071268&itok=zebLs2Ra)
IWH in the media
Recent immigrants, refugees largely unaware of OHS: Researchers
When immigrants and refugees come to Canada, they are handed a 140-page document that contains only one small paragraph about employee rights. Unfortunately, this might be the only OHS exposure these workers receive, writes Amanda Silliker, reporting on an Institute for Work & Health research project.
Published: Canadian Occupational Safety, November 2017