Hello again! There is another proposed change to workplace safety legislation coming in the next few months. This change is called the “2014 Certification Training Program Standard” and information on all the requirements can be found here.
The proposed change will deal with the Certification Training provided to members of a Joint Health and Safety Committee (or H&S Rep in smaller companies).
The changes are due to take effect in “late 2015” (that’s as specific as they get…sorry!)
The main focus of the change is to standardize the training providers, what is taught for “Basic” Certification (level 1) and better define the course content for the Sector-specific portion (level 2) of training (divided into six categories based on the OHSA: mining, healthcare, food and beverage, industry/manufacturing, logging and construction)
So, why I am I sharing this? Because of course, there is an impact on my readers as well.
If you have an employee that is currently a “Certified Worker” (as your H&S Rep/JHSC member), that person’s training is valid forever based upon the current language in the OHSA.
However, the proposed change means any NEW certification completed after the changes have taken effect will require a “refresher training course” of 6.5 hours every three years in order to maintain the Certification Standard.
There is an option to apply for an exemption of the refresher course for the Certified Worker if they are active on the committee, but this exemption is only granted once. That means if you Certify a worker rep under the new rules, every three years they will have to take the refresher course in order to remain “Certified”.
So…my suggestion to my readers is this: contact a qualified Health and Safety Training Provider (such as my friends at OHSC) and get a few people trained now, to beat the rush………
