Workers Health & Safety Centre

Workers taking a health and safety JHSC certification training class

JHSC CERTIFICATION RESOURCES

Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every provincially regulated workplace with 20 or more workers or a designated substance on site to establish a joint health and safety committee (JHSC). Employers by law must "carry out" Certification training for at least two members of the JHSC, one worker representative and one management representative. (Although many workplaces are electing to train their entire committee.) By “carry out” the law means the employer must pay for the training and time spent training must be employer-paid time too.

Certification training programs and those who deliver them must be also be approved. By “approved” the law means approved by the Ministry of Labour’s Chief Prevention Officer. WHSC is an approved provider and all our Certification training programs are also indeed approved.


Among other things, the certification process involves:
  • Certification Part I
  • Certification Part II, and
  • Certification Refresher Training.

Certification Part I

The WHSC Certification Part I program helps organizations provide basic training to workplace health and safety representatives and fulfill legal requirements. It meets and exceeds minimum standards set out by the Ministry of Labour's Chief Prevention Officer and is applicable to any workplace in Ontario.

This program gives participants a full understanding of occupational health and safety legislation, including rights and responsibilities of the workplace parties and certified reps in particular. Equally important, participants learn how to identify, assess and control, or better yet eliminate, workplace hazards. The training also gives participants the ability to create workplace health and safety policies and programs, access prevention resources and develop internal communications.

Certification Part II

Before joint health and safety committee members can become fully certified, they are also required to complete a second round of approved training, or Certification Part II training. This training must address hazards identified by a proper workplace hazard assessment. WHSC has developed more than 40 hazard-specific modules to meet this mandated training. Each module gives participants an understanding of a specific hazard, potential health and safety effects and possible control measures. To ease the process WHSC also offers a general stream of Certification Part II training as well as some key sector programs.

Certification Refresher Training

To maintain certification status, a certified member of a joint health and safety committee (JHSC) in Ontario must complete an approved Refresher 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 approved provider. And just as WHSC is an approved provider of Part I and Part II Certification programs, WHSC is also approved to deliver Certification Refresher Training.

Delivered over one day, the WHSC Certification Refresher Training revisits key concepts from Certification training. The program further affords participants the opportunity to share and discuss new or amended legislation / guidelines / standards, current or emerging issues, plus best practices for hazard elimination and control.

Visit our product sheet library to learn more about the Certification process and all WHSC Certification programs.

Register today for WHSC Certification training programs all now offered online, in real-time virtual classrooms.