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Training, learning and skills development
> Responsibilities
> Employment of staff
> Induction
> Safe work procedures
> Continuing training, learning and skills development
> Templates & References
Responsibilities
Employers are responsible for ensuring that their employees have the skills necessary to perform their work in a safe manner. This starts with recruiting staff with the appropriate qualifications and experience; providing them with a thorough induction to their role, responsibilities and the organisation; and identifying additional training they need to grow in their role.
Employment of staff
You are responsible for ensuring you employ competent staff to work in your organisation. This should start with a detailed job description noting the qualifications, skills and experience needed to perform the role.
Take job applicants on a tour of your workplace or provide them with an opportunity to see the job in action. This allows the worker to decide whether they wish to continue with the selection process.
The job description should detail the physical capabilities required by the worker to perform their role safely. This involves conducting a task analysis of the position and identifying the physical capabilities required. For example, to transfer residents safely, the worker would need to be able to lean forward and reach to position hoist slings correctly.
Conduct a functional capacity assessment of the worker to identify whether they are capable of performing the role in a safe manner and to ensure that they are not placed in roles where they would be subject to risk of workplace injury. This assessment can be conducted by an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist with skills in task analysis and job matching. The therapist can then provide functional education to the worker or recommend aids and equipment to ensure that they perform the task safely.
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Induction
A thorough induction ensures that staff are clear about the expectations of the organisation and their role. WorkCover emphasises the importance of a thorough induction process as the evidence suggests that new workers are at greater risk of injury, often through a misunderstanding of their role and the expectations of the organisation.
The induction and orientation should be commenced prior to starting work and may extend over a period of time, but should be completed within the initial three-month appraisal period.
Your induction program should include, but not be limited to, the following:
- OHS policies and procedures;
- Procedures for reporting an injury or near miss;
- Legislative rights and responsibilities;
- Workplace hazards;
- Emergency procedures;
- Manual handling;
- Safe use of substances and equipment that personnel may encounter;
- Use of personal protective equipment where appropriate;
- First aid facilities and procedures;
- Infection control;
- Workers compensation and injury management.
Use the induction checklist as a guide to creating your own. Make sure that staff sign off that they have completed the induction process. Place this checklist on the staff member's personnel file for future reference.
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Review your employment and induction procedures. Are your staff fit for work? Do they understand their roles and responsibilities? |
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Safe Work Procedures
Safe Work Procedures are procedures implemented after undertaking a risk assessment where the hazard cannot be eliminated, substituted or engineered out. A safe work procedure sets out a method for performing tasks which minimises the risk associated with that task.
Ideally safe work procedures should identify what skills or competencies staff require to perform the task safely. A good safe work procedure is the basis of a competency based training and assessment.
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Have safe work procedures been written for high risk tasks? Are staff trained in safe work procedures? |
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Continuing training, learning and skills development
Keeping up to date is an essential part of working today. We are faced with legislation changes, new strategies and guidelines. Employers must keep abreast of these changes and ensure that workers have the skills needed to meet these challenges.
How do you keep up to date? There are many sources of OHS and injury management information including:
- Reading WorkCover News. This newsletter is distributed by WorkCover free of charge four times per year and includes current information on OHS and injury management.
- Use the links on this website to visit the WorkCover website. This is a comprehensive site which allows free access to a large variety of WorkCover publications.
- Visit the other OHS sites in Australia and overseas linked off our website.
- Attend workshops, seminars and conferences organised by your association. These provide an opportunity to hear the latest research as well as networking with your colleagues.
Identify what skills your staff need to work safely. This may result from performance appraisals, review of hazard reports or be triggered by new information or legislation. Consulting your staff will also provide valuable information on their training needs.
Remember, training, learning and skills development does not mean formal classroom sessions but may also include one on one training, mentoring, reading journals or articles, web based learning and other strategies.
Encourage workers to take responsibility for their training and skills development. Provide them with certificates for attending training and encourage them to keep a portfolio which details training undertaken.
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Identify what continuing skills development your staff need to work safely. Are your staff competent to perform their role safely? Are your work practices based on current methods? |
Review the training needs of your volunteers. Are they provided with an induction to the organisation? Do they understand your policies and procedures? Do they work in a safe manner? What training do they need to perform their roles? |
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