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WorkSafeBC launches new support for apprentices

Online portal provides health and safety resources.
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WorkSafeBC is launching a new Apprenticeship Portal: a leading edge online tool aimed at getting health and safety resources into the hands of apprentices and those working in the trades, quickly and easily.

“We needed to find a way to ensure that everyone involved with apprentices would have a single source they could go to for the most current, up-to-date health and safety resources,” says Trudi Rondou, WorkSafeBC manager of Young and New Worker Programs. “With more than 2,000 youth apprentices in B.C., the portal is a response to that need.”

The carpentry, electrician, and plumbing trades are currently represented on the site, with a plan to include the professional cook and automotive service technician trades in the near future. Teachers, students, employers, and apprentices can instantly access health and safety regulations, guidelines, videos, publications, articles, posters, safety meeting guides, and more.

"Student safety in our programs and in the workforce is our number one priority. Alongside WorkSafeBC and the Industry Training Authority, we want to make sure we are providing industry in B.C. with workers who know the correct safety procedures so they can have long, healthy, safe careers and pass this knowledge on to future apprentices," says Rod Goy, dean of the School of Construction and the Environment at BCIT. “This web portal is another very valuable tool to help students locate the health and safety resources they need.”

The Industry Training Authority (ITA) is a Crown agency responsible for setting standards and providing oversight of the province’s apprenticeship system.

"The very first requirement employers have of any new apprentice is a sound understanding of workplace safety,” says Kevin Evans, CEO of the ITA. “This new resource will enhance employability in addition to making for safer workplaces.”

The site is located at http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/Apprenticeships/Home.asp.

WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.2 million workers and more than 200,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born from the historic 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. WorkSafeBC is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.