The end of October saw the publication of annual statistics on work related injuries and ill health for the year 2013-14. Although numbers of fatalities were fewer than the previous year, there were still 133 deaths, while around 2 million people are suffering from an illness they attribute to current work or employment they’ve had in the past.
The Chair of the Health and Safety Executive, Judith Hackett, said: “These latest figures remind us what health and safety is really about. We should remind ourselves what these numbers actually mean the number of times in the last year someone went out to work and either did not return home to their loved ones or came home with life changing injuries ”
Training for Safe Manual Handling
Many work related injuries reported are down to poor manual handling techniques, an area for which training of staff is important and mandatory. If you have in-house instructors who have gained a qualification via Alistair Bromhead’s City & Guilds Manual Handling Train the Trainer Certificate course, you probably don’t have to worry about this. Training will be arranged at regular intervals so that all staff receive initial and refresher courses as appropriate. As well as keeping your personnel safe, this will also satisfy the health and safety inspectors and your insurance companies.
The highly experienced trainers from Alistair Bromhead ensure the up-to-date course content is expertly delivered to give examples of the interactive teaching methods that make the course enjoyable and memorable. Delegates find it inspiring, and they leave it after two days armed with their certificates and a professional instructor pack of useful teaching materials.
Arrangements for Courses
Various open courses are held through the year. Dates and venues for these are published on the website, but they are popular and you are advised to book places as early as possible. If you have a number of staff instructors to be trained, you could arrange an in-house course which can be tailored to the specific circumstances of your business. Some small businesses join forces to hold a course in their local area and save on the costs of travel and accommodation for delegates.
However the training is arranged, you will undoubtedly benefit from having your own in-house trainers. Once you have made the initial investment, the savings on future staff training will be significant. You will also have the comfort of knowing you have made adequate arrangements to ensure your staff know how to stay safe, and can demonstrate this to insurers and to the health and safety regulators.