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Home › News Room › News releases › 2006 ›

Young workers need more training, orientation, and supervision

Kelowna, B.C., April 27, 2006 — As part of a provincial initiative WorkSafeBC has joined with more than twenty employer partners to raise public awareness about young worker safety at work. Today’s breakfast at the Manteo Resort brings together local employers, training providers, unions and other stakeholders to focus on the specific training, orientation and supervision that they need.

In 2005, 11 young BC workers died on the job, 151 were seriously injured and more than 9,000 were injured.

At this time of year, thousands of young workers aged 15-24 will enter a new workplace or start a job for the first time — and some of them will be seriously injured or permanently disabled.

“As a community, we all have a part to play in the safety of young workers”, said Vincent Russell, WorkSafeBC Director of Industry and Labour Services today to an audience of employers, industry and labour representatives, workers and community leaders. “New and young workers deserve our attention and we all should feel a sense of responsibility for their safety — particularly when they are in very vulnerable situations such as working alone.”

B.C.’s 310,000 young workers make up 14.9 per cent of the provincial labour force and thousands are expected to be added by 2010. B.C.’s labour force is increasing at the rate of 3.4 per-cent annually; but the young worker component is growing by 8.3 per-cent annually.

While the injury rate for young workers is more than twice that of the overall population, there has been a 33 per-cent reduction since 1995. While the injury rate has decreased significantly, the number of serious injuries has been trending upward in the past five years — from 114 in 2001 to 151 in 2005. In 2005 one — third of those serious injuries (including amputations, serious fractures and head or spine injuries) occurred in the manufacturing sector.

Shane Bennett, Manager of the Kelowna London Drugs, developed and introduced a program that includes a buddy system, tests the safety knowledge of the new workers and sends a letter to the parents of new workers to “play an important role in ensuring your son or daughter can fulfill their new responsibilities in the safest possible way”.

Other companies who are participating in the launch are Reidco Metals, which has an effective apprentice training program and Mission Hill who works carefully with its hospitality staff to make sure both workers and customers are safe when they are on site.

A kit of young worker safety resources and the manual will be available to those attending the breakfast and will be available at www.worksafebc.com.

WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves nearly two million workers and about 179,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.’s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. The organization is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.

For more information please contact:

Gladys Johnsen Prevention Public Affairs Manager WorkSafeBC 604 214-5441 or toll-free in B.C. 1 888 621-7233, local 5441 Or cell 604 908-0876