The Workers Health and Safety Centre is now approved to deliver all training required by joint health and safety committee (JHSC) members to gain and maintain Certification status.
The most recent Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC) program to acquire Ministry of Labour (MOL) approval is
Certification Refresher Training — a program
applicable to all provincially-regulated workplaces.
Attaining certification status
Most workplaces employing 20 or more workers or using a designated substance must have a JHSC. Ontario’s
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) also requires employers to ensure the certification of at least two JHSC members, one representing workers and one management. This said
many Ontario employers chose to certify all JHSC members, helping to prepare each member for their significant legal obligations.
To become certified, a JHSC member must complete a MOL-approved
Basic Certification Training (Part I) and
Workplace-Specific Hazard Certification Training (Part II). These programs must be delivered by an approved provider.
Maintaining certification status
On March 1, 2016, Ontario’s new Certification Program Standard took effect establishing, for the first time, a requirement for certified members of JHSCs in Ontario to
complete MOL-approved refresher training to maintain their certified status. In fact, they must complete this program within three years of completing
Certification Part II and every three years thereafter. Like all Certification training, this refresher program must be delivered by an MOL-approved provider.
WHSC
Part I, Part II and, most recently,
Certification Refresher Training are MOL-approved and the
WHSC is an approved training provider. Employers are required to carry out and pay for this training.
Those who don’t maintain Certification status will have to retrain in all three parts of Certification training to regain their certified status.
Remaining effective certified members
Subscribing to a belief training renewal is critical to the success of any health and safety representative, WHSC offered certification refresher training long before it became law.
Now approved by the Ministry, WHSC’s one-day
Certification Refresher Training program revisits important concepts from Certification training, including specific duties and responsibilities for JHSC members, employers and other workplace parties as set out in OHSA.
In keeping with the
hazard-based approach to protecting workers which forms the basis of OHSA, the WHSC program also explores the shortcomings of behaviour-based safety and why hazard elimination or exposure control is most effective in safeguarding worker well-being and meeting legal obligations.
The program further affords participants the opportunity to review new or amended health and safety law, highly relevant legal decisions, current or emerging issues, plus best practices for hazard elimination and control. In short, the program constitutes essential training JHSC Certified members need to remain effective in their roles.
Currently WHSC
Certification Refresher Training is
offered for in house delivery only — an option of which some employers are already taking full advantage. As demand increases WHSC will offer scheduled courses in Ontario communities, just as we do for other Certification essentials.
To learn more about Certification requirements and WHSC MOL-approved programs be sure to download the following product sheets:
To register for upcoming Certification training in a community near you check out our complete list of courses scheduled over the next few weeks and months.
Have more questions?
Call: 1-888-869-7950 and ask to speak to a training service representative
Email:
contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit:
www.whsc.on.ca