Staying Safe at Work Training
The Staying Safe at Work training is a curriculum for teaching workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities about health and safety on the job.
For assistance implementing the Staying Safe at Work Curriculum:
The IOD's Employment Safety Training program provides attendees with critical job-safety tools for teaching those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) the skills they need to be safe at work through a train the trainer model. The trainings will be held virtually to encourage interactive learning, while ensuring trainees’ safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By utilizing the 6-hour Staying Safe at Work curriculum, training will be provided to address the need of specific safety training while at work to supported employment agencies, community vocational rehabilitation programs, high-school transition programs, and other organizations and companies that place individuals with disabilities in jobs or hire workers with disabilities. Training supports the needs assessment process designed to address gaps, deficiencies, and unmet occupational safety and health training needs.
“It was interactive and provided opportunities to think critically about the information being learned and apply it to real-life scenarios.” - Participant
Attendees will be provided with the necessary tools and materials to teach those with IDD the skills needed to be safe at work. The curriculum is designed to teach important occupational safety and health skills to those who may have learning challenges, including difficulty reading and/or understanding abstract concepts. It uses skits, stories, and pictures of typical workplaces that allow participants to recognize hazards and identify solutions. It also uses board games to learn how to stay safe in a work emergency and to learn about their health and safety rights and responsibilities on the job.
Researchers
Through the Department of Labor (DOL) Susan Harwood Training Grant, the Institute on Disability sought to address the shortage of occupational health and safety training for workers with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) by offering New Hampshire disability service providers the Staying Safe at Work curriculum developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP).
Project Outcomes
The desired outcome of this project is to assist supported employment agencies, community vocational rehabilitation programs, high-school transition programs, and other organizations and companies that place in jobs or hire workers with disabilities. The curriculum can help teach students or consumers/employees the foundational job safety and health skills that all workers need.
