As discussed before on this blog, young workers between the ages of 14 and 24 are hurt on the job at twice the rate as older employees. Over a 10-year period, an estimated 7.9 million young workers were treated at emergency rooms for nonfatal injuries. Why is this? Perhaps in large part because young workers have limited job experience, or because they engage in unsafe or risky behaviors more often than older workers. Many workplace accidents can be prevented with proper training; however, in a survey of young workers, 84% reported they had received little or no training related to health and safety at work.
CROET’s Oregon Healthy Workforce Center researcher, Diane Rohlman, and the Oregon Young Worker Health and Safety Coalition (O[yes]) have teamed up to engage employers in their latest healthy workforce project. Over the next several weeks, they will be gathering feedback from employers about their company’s workplace safety and health training practices. The information collected from these surveys will be used in the development of a total worker health training geared towards young workers, a project funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Employer participation in the survey will help researchers develop an inclusive training that will appropriately communicate health and safety principles to young workers in an interactive and age appropriate format.
You can help! If you work for an organization that hires young workers, we encourage you to take this brief, 12-item survey. Your input will help shape the future of our workforce. Click here to access the survey.
If you have any questions about this project, contact Diane Rohlman. To learn more about workplace safety training for youth, or the NIOSH “Talking Safety” program in Oregon contact Marcus Widenor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center.
Submitted by Megan Parish, CROET Research Associate.
Resources:
Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes])
CROETweb Young Workers Topic
NIOSH Young Worker Safety and Health
