Employment division of
the Association for New Canadians
Occupational Health and Safety for Newcomers - Buliding Awereness
AXIS Career Services Division of the Association for New Canadians, in partnership with the Workplace Health, Safety, and Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador (WHSCC), and with support from the Department of Advanced Education and Skills through the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism (OIM), developed an Occupational Health and Safety Facilitator's Guide for Immigirants - Building Awareness. The OHS awareness program is an innovative response to numerous studies showing that hazardous settings, language barriers, heavy workloads and lack of knowledge of safety practices may all contribute to immigrant workplace injury.
In 2012, AXIS promoted the OHS Awareness program to many local employers hiring internationally trained workers. The programs has been promoted at the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association (NLCSA) 2012 conference, as well as at the Canadian Association for Prior Learning Assessment (CAPLA) 2012 conference aptly themed Strengthening Today’s Workplace for a Better Tomorrow. The OHS Module has also been featured on the International Qualifications Network (IQN) website as a new and innovative initiative to advance newcomer labour market attachment. The IQN Website was spearheaded by the national Foreign Credential Recognition Office (FCRO) to support the Pan-Canadian Framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials. The website has been developed to provide a platform for showcasing international qualifications assessment and recognition promising practices from across Canada and internationally.
“We can’t assume newcomers have a good understanding of workplace health and safety, because it’s so huge. The OHS orientation opens their eyes to a lot of things and helps them to be more prepared when entering the workforce. This is an awareness program and we are not here to take on the role of other groups who offer occupational health and safety training.” Eileen Kelly-Freake, AXIS Director of Employment and Career Services
In its quarterly magazine Safework News for the Fall 2012, Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission features an article "New Canadians Buliding OHS awareness", which explains the importance of the occupational health and safety awareness in a workplace for newcomers living in Newfoundland and Labrador, and showcases the new AXIS OHS module. To read the full article, click here.
