NISO is the National Irish Safety Organisation. Their mission is to make Irish workplaces among the safest and healthiest in Europe. We chatted with NISO’s Warren Azong about their one-day health and safety training course, which currently costs just €20 per person.
Who is the workplace safety course aimed at?
A huge range of people! We encourage employers with new recruits to enrol them. In addition, anyone entering the workforce or returning to work after an absence will benefit. We also recommend it for anyone changing jobs or moving to a new sector. Finally, it is a great course for anyone who wants to enhance their employment opportunities or who is generally interested in occupational health and safety.
What does it cover?
The one-day training programme introduces people to issues related to health and safety at work. It will help the employee to interact with supervisors, co-workers, work areas, and jobs, and especially to health and safety
Tell us a bit about the trainers.
Firstly, there is a speaker from the NISO. Our speakers are health and safety professionals. That means they have the experience to deliver exceptional training, as well as share insights and real life scenarios. The ability to apply lessons to real life situations is imperative. Furthermore, there is also an inspector from the Health and Safety Authority’s BeSMART programme. They will discuss vthe role of the Health and Safety Authority together with employer and employee obligations as required by workplace health and safety legislation.
Are there sectors or industries where all staff should have some workplace safety training?
All sectors and Industries need some workplace safety training
What about people who work in offices – is workplace safety training needed here?
Yes. Office environments have their own health and safety risk and challenges that employees and employers need to be aware of.
Are employers more aware of workplace safety than they used to be?
Awareness is generally improving but more work still needs to be done as we continue to have unacceptable levels of workplace accidents
Do you have any idea how many workplace accidents take place in Ireland on average every year? If so, how many are serious?
There were 56 fatal workplace accidents in 2015. This was with the agricultural, forestry and fishing industry recording the highest with 21 fatalities. In addition, the construction industry recorded 10.
Is there anything you’d like potential students or employers to know?
Yes. There are plenty of good reasons for everyone in a company to do the course. Firstly, they gain an understanding of the legal duties of employers, managers and employees in respect of health and safety in the workplace. The course helps both employers and employees to gain an understanding of some of the common workplace safety signs and accident triggers.
For workers, the most important aspect is that it increases health and safety awareness and reduces the risk of getting involved in work related accidents. It also helps enhance your employment opportunities.
Normally, this course costs €145 per person, but because it heavily subsidised thanks to Insurance Ireland, the cost is just €20 each.
For more information and details about NISO’s courses, please click here.
