High school seniors heading to an Ontario post-secondary institution this fall are invited to apply for a chance at cash awards while gaining workplace safety insights.
 
Applicants for the 23rd edition of the Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) Student Scholarship Contest are asked to produce a video, design a poster or write an essay exploring why employers and supervisors have the most significant responsibilities to protect workers. They must also explain why it’s important for workers to understand and insist their legal rights in pursuit of safer, healthier work are met and how these responsibilities and rights are interconnected.
 
“Asking students to analyze these significant responsibilities and rights is an important step in their educational and occupational journey,” explains Andrew Mudge, WHSC executive director. “Each of them is or soon will be a worker, supervisor, or employer. Each is sure to be faced with a hazardous workplace situation in need of a response. An ill-informed action or no action at all can have grave consequences.”
 
Applicants must also provide details of their volunteer activities aimed at improving the lived experiences of fellow students and/or members of their community both in their own words and in a letter of recommendation from a teacher, other educator or representative of a community organization.
 
The scholarship contest is open to Ontario high school students entering full-time or part-time studies at a publicly funded Ontario post-secondary institution.
 
The top applicant for the 2025 WHSC Student Scholarship Competition will be awarded the Clifford Pilkey, WHSC Founder Memorial Scholarship and receive $6,000. The second-place applicant will be awarded the Fred Upshaw, Champion for Social Justice Memorial Scholarship and receive $4,000. Up to two additional successful applicants in each of the three categories will receive $2,000 each.
 
Submissions are due on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. 
 
ACCESS THE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE VARIOUS CASH AWARDS ON OFFER

The suffering

While health and safety consequences can impact all workers, those new to work, including many who are young, face unique and excess risks when exposed to workplace hazards left unchecked.
 
According to Ontario’s Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB), 98 young workers (between the ages of 15-24) were killed at work over the 10-year period ending in 2022. This represents a more than 40 per cent increase from the previous decade. Almost all these deaths occurred because of traumatic workplace events such as falls, struck by, crushing and electrocutions.
 
These deaths, while tragic, are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more from this young worker cohort will eventually develop cancer and other illnesses as a direct result of hazardous exposures at work. This very issue was explored by CAREX Canada researchers in 2022. They looked at the unique vulnerabilities of young workers relating to workplace exposure to carcinogens. Concerns included the potential for workers who stay in high-risk work to be exposed to carcinogens over a longer period enhancing the risk of developing cancer. Similarly, with exposures at such a young age, the deadly illness has longer time to develop.
 
Research also informs us young workers have higher rates of injuries than more experienced workers. Ontario’s Institute for Work and Health (IWH) has been examining this issue for decades and suggest workers are three times more likely to be hurt in their first month in a job than they are after their first year.
 
Data published in 2024 by Sentry, a U.S.–based insurance provider, also revealed newness to work matters with one in three injuries suffered by workers in retail and warehouse operations occur within one year of beginning work.

The reasons

A growing body of research demonstrates how newness to the job, lack of experience, hazardous work assignments, fear of reporting concerns, inadequate or incompetent supervision, and inadequate or no training is fueling the excess suffering of those new to work.  
 
As pointed out by the CAREX Canada researchers in their study cited above, “The majority of young workers receive inadequate safety training or no safety training at all. This leads young workers to know little about the hazards of their workplace and a lack of understanding of the appropriate ways to reduce hazardous exposures.”
 
In the U.S. as in Ontario, a closer look reveals the lack of training is a major factor contributing to elevated suffering of new workers. “Many companies treat safety training as an infrequent or one-and-done event,” explains Dan Grant, director of safety services at Sentry Insurance, in an interview about their 2024 Retail & Wholesale Injury Report cited above. “Our data is clear: ongoing training and mentorship for new hires are critical to reducing first-year injuries.”

The training obligations

Here in Ontario training is mandatory for new and existing workers. In the broadest sense, the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) requires employers to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect their health and safety. Training is a key way employers meet this obligation.
 
Examples include basic occupational health and safety awareness for workers and supervisors, WHMIS training, along with training addressing workplace violence and harassment, working at heights and the operation of certain equipment. They must also provide job and workplace-specific training including an overview of workplace hazards, safety and reporting protocols and proper use of personal protective equipment to name but a few.
 
DO YOU KNOW A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR? HAVE THEM APPLY TODAY!
 
Please note: No portion of government grants from employer WSIB assessments or WHSC revenue generation support this important awareness initiative. All student scholarships are financed solely through funds raised at the Clifford Pilkey Memorial Golf Fundraiser. WHSC facilitates this fundraising event.
 
Related resources
Lack of training continues to threaten new workers’ safety
Young workers vulnerable to harmful job exposures too study finds
Health and Safety Resources for Young Workers

Need more information?
Contact a WHSC training services representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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