Safety Services Company
July 1st 2009
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is strengthening the Outreach Training Program—a curriculum on educating employers and workers about workplace hazards—after reports of the presence of fraudulent trainers circulated. Since this Program is a voluntary initiative, independent trainers—both eligible and ineligible—have emerged for the construction and general industries.
However, despite OSHA regulation through the handing out of 10-hour course completion cards (which serve as “certifications”), some trainers have still been found to provide training that is not in accordance with the program. To solve this and to identify program violators, OSHA is working on how to improve trainer authorization procedures as well as how to ensure that trainers are in compliance with the agency’s program guidelines. According to OSHA’s Jordan Barab, though independent trainers have significantly helped in the expansion of the training program, fraudulent activities and unscrupulous trainers will not be tolerated by the agency as it is the health and lives of the workers that are threatened. In strengthening the program to address this issue, the following procedures are done:
Barab concluded by emphasizing that these efforts to strengthen OSHA’s Outreach Training Program are still for the workers to receive quality training, to help them gain employment, and to keep them safe in their workplace, wherever it may be.