Improvement Of Health & Safety Through Literacy Training

By Author: Elspeth Mowatt
Total Articles: 17
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Recent analysis of the effects of Workplace Literacy training shows how health and safety can be dramatically improved through incorporating literacy training into workplace practices.

Following literacy training at Fletcher Aluminium and Selecon, time lost through injury improved by 69% and 41% respectively.

Warwick Milbank, HR Manager at Fletcher Aluminium says “Lost time due to injuries has reduced to zero. We haven’t had a lost time injury in nearly three years.”

Fletcher Aluminium and Selecon had introduced literacy training, run by Workbase, to help their employees understand the new health and safety and productivity initiatives they were implementing. Often, the reason why employees do not understand either the need to keep safe or how to keep themselves safe is because they have low literacy skills. They may be able to read their morning paper, but they can’t read a health and safety manual.

Employees at Fletcher and Selecon are among the 1.1 million New Zealanders (44% of the workforce) who need to improve their literacy ...
... skills to be able to do their job properly* Workbase literacy training focuses on employees in the workplace. Because it takes place at work, the training can be tailored to what the business needs, attendance is high and the participants can apply what they learn directly to the job the do.

Please see the case studies on the websites.

Workplace is a not for profit organisation, specialising in improving workplace literacy. It has nearly 20 years experience in delivering workplace literacy programs.

Fletcher Aluminium is a business unit of the Fletcher Building Group based at Mt Wellington, Auckland.

Selecon, based in Auckland, is a manufacturer of lighting equipment primarily for the entertainment industry and is now part of Philips Lighting Entertainment division.

For more information contact:
Elspeth Mowatt,
Workbase, (09) 361 3800
emowatt@workbase.org.nz

About The Author:

Workbase is New Zealand's most experienced service provider of adult literacy, numeracy and communication support. Find out more at www.workbase.org.nz