Press Release

Lack of training blamed for young worker death toll

Tuesday, August 5 2008

• A young person is seriously injured in a UK workplace every 40 minutes1

• In the last decade, 66 under 19s have been killed at work in the UK2

• The British Safety Council calls for work safety training to start at school.

Thousands of young workers do not have the training needed to keep them safe in their first job or on work experience, a new survey from the British Safety Council (BSC) warns today. The report, ‘Get Skilled For Work’ shows that a staggering three in five (58%)3 young workers are accidents waiting to happen as they have no idea about workplace safety.

And the statistics are shocking: a young person is seriously injured in a UK workplace every 40 minutes1 and in the UK in the last decade, 66 under-19s have been killed at work2. According to the report, around three quarters of workers (73%) and nearly two thirds of employers (62%) think that there is a real benefit to children being taught about work safety while they are still at school.

Children on work experience are at just as much risk as young people starting first jobs – of the 500,000 school pupils currently in Year 10 (14-15 year olds), 350,000 could be going out on work experience. With the lack of safety training in UK businesses uncovered by the BSC (the BSC’s recent Safe & Sound? survey found that two out of three workers had little or no safety training, and half of the UK’s bosses had not offered it) these work experience placements could be putting children’s lives at risk.

Combined with young people starting their first jobs, the lack of training could be putting hundreds of thousands of young people’s lives at risk in the workplace.

The warning comes as the health and safety charity steps up its campaign to force the government to act.

Brian Nimick, CEO at the BSC said: "In March 2007 a fifteen year old teenager was crushed to death on a building site. He had been given no training or safety equipment, yet he was asked to demolish a brick wall – a request that led to his death.

"We need to address this now. We are calling on the government to make workplace hazard awareness part of the national curriculum. Our survey revealed that there is a clear demand for children to be educated at school about the dangers of the workplace, and supports our launch of the Entry Level qualification for schools."

The BSC’s new Entry Level Award in Workplace Hazard Awareness
As the leading occupational health and safety charity, the BSC is paying for all 14-19 year olds in the UK to gain a new nationally-recognised qualification, the Entry Level Award in Workplace Hazard Awareness, designed to raise their awareness of health and safety dangers before they embark on work experience or their first job.

The qualification is on offer to all 5,000 secondary schools in the UK and so far, a quarter of schools (1,260) have taken it up. 70,000 young people have been registered for the qualification in the first academic year. With 500,000 pupils in each school year who can take the qualification, the BSC has committed millions of pounds to fund this from its charitable reserves.

Mr Nimick said: "The phenomenal uptake of the qualification is proof of the need for such training in our schools and a clear sign of the importance that headteachers place on ensuring the health and safety of their students on work experience."

Mike Conn, Principal at Bexhill High School, has seen a group of students take up the qualification successfully. He says: “We are incredibly proud of these students. They were given the chance to take on this qualification, worked hard and achieved excellent results. This qualification is so important to students as it gives them a real understanding of the dangers of the workplace and the tools to be able to deal with different situations. It makes them realise that health and safety is not about silly rules – in some cases it is about life and death."

Welcoming this initiative, the parents of 18-year-old Steven Parsons, who lost his life in a workplace accident, said: "It is imperative that all young people receive health and safety training before entering the workplace. However, once they start working, safety must be the number one priority.

"Employers must ensure the safety of their workers at all times through risk assessments for example, but young people must also be safety aware and not be afraid to refuse to do a job if they think their safety is at risk. Parents must also be aware of what can and what does happen to our children in the workplace. Just because they are at work and not roaming the streets does not mean they are safe."

Mr Nimick added: "We have a duty of care to our children. We cannot be complacent with health and safety as new generations of business leaders and employees come through the workforce. Last year 241 people were killed and six million days were lost due to workplace injury4. Training the next generation of our workforce must be a priority, and that priority must begin at school, before children are sent out into the world of work."

The full report, Get Skilled For Work, and the annual survey into health and safety perceptions, 'Safe & Sound?', are both available on the BSC website at www.britishsafetycouncil.org.