In the early 2000s, a disturbing trend was noted: workers who were new on the job (within the initial six months) were more prone to being injured than their experienced counterparts – and new workers under the age of 25 were more than twice as likely to be injured as new workers over that age. Clearly, there was an urgent need to address that situation. It was decided that the best approach was to emphasise training and mentoring of new and young workers to prevent pain and suffering. The Alberta Construction Safety Association developed a program to focus on the need for enhanced training for new and young workers; COAA informed and encouraged the broad adoption of this practice.
The Worker at Risk Mentoring Best Practice has now been archived, having served its purpose of focusing attention on an area of elevated safety risk and encouraging adoption in our industry. The concepts of paying attention to awareness, competency and attitude of new workers are now embedded in virtually all safety programs in our sector. If you wish to review the archived documents, please contact the COAA office at admin@coaa.ab.ca.
