| Need Addressed |
In Alberta industrial worksites, newcomer trades people may not be working safely. Several factors contribute to this problem: gaps in language proficiency related to safety language and workplace jargon, intercultural communication patterns that create potential safety issues on the worksite (e.g. failure to speak up when facing unsafe working conditions) and a lack of information about safety practices and regulations. The English in the Workplace: New Employee Orientation for Newcomers in the Workplace project was a response to a need identified in the Alberta trades sector to increase the percentage of newcomers passing basic site safety training as a requirement to gain access to employment. |
| Project Funder |
Alberta Employment and Immigration |
| Deliverables: |
- Gaining Access to the Workplace Guide
- Gaining Access Curriculum Framework
- Module 1 Facilitator Guide
- Module 1 Participant Handouts
- Modules 1-6 Presentation Slides
- 5.1 Module 1 Rights and Responsibilities
- 5.2 Module 2 Workplace Hazards
- 5.3 Module 3 Pro-Active Strategies for Unsafe Working Conditions
- 5.4 Module 4 Personal Protective Equipment
- 5.5 Module 5 WHMIS
- 5.6 Module 6 Safety is an Attitude
|
| Key Project Activities |
Project Activities Included:
- Needs assessment and engagement with stakeholders to identify requirements for training.
- Development of the orientation training curriculum
- Pilot and evaluation of the orientation training with non-native English speaking trades people.
- Dissemination of resources to appropriate stakeholders.
|
| Project Time Frame |
April – November 2009 |
| Target Audience |
The Gaining Access resources will benefit Alberta companies who need to ensure safe worksites for their employees. The resource can be used to develop training that will improve the language of safety for L2 trades people. |
| Number of People Involved in Project |
32 people including:
3 Project Team members (Darcy McDonald, Kerry Louw, Cheryl Whitelaw)
7 Advisory Committee members
22 Training participants |
| Communities Participating in Project |
4 companies in the Edmonton region participated through on-site needs assessments |
| Lessons Learned |
- For newcomer trades people to be safe and to be perceived as safe by their co-workers, the language of safety, issues of intercultural communication and Canadian workplace culture of safety all need to be addressed in addition to safety training required for their job.
- Recruitment of newcomer trades people to participate in the orientation training presented challenges during the pilot. In order to offer future orientation sessions, greater engagement with industry, union and labour associations is required to identify what the training is about, what it can do for their organization and newcomer trades people. Conducting information sessions prior to offerings on worksites, in work camps or other easy to reach locations could help to ensure that the training reaches the target audience. Employers need to be engaged to help address barriers to participation for newcomer trades people.
- Language proficiency for newcomer trades people emerged as an issue. Newcomer trades people participating in the pilot had lower than anticipated language proficiency levels. The gap between appropriate language proficiency under typical working conditions and under emergency conditions can be significant. In emergency situations the language gap could contribute to misunderstandings about emergency protocols (e.g. gathering at a muster point).
To achieve a goal of ensuring safety for newcomer trades people and their co-workers in industrial worksite contexts, more work needs to be done to prepare internationally educated skilled workers to be safe. |
| |
|
| For more information, contact Darcy McDonald at 780-644-6770 or
. |
