Integrating job health and safety as a critical ‘life skill' in high school programs

Many national and international initiatives focus on preparing the future workforce, but most lack a focus on occupational safety and health (OSH). Given that most workers enter the labor force during their adolescent years and are at an increased risk for suffering job-related injuries and illnesses, occupational safety and health prevention efforts should target this population. Educators agree that young people should learn about workplace safety, including rights and responsibilities, but are often overwhelmed with competing demands. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has funded three states (CA, OR, NY) to explore how a curriculum (Youth @ Work—Talking Safety) that teaches foundational skills in workplace safety and health can be disseminated and institutionalized so that all students, ideally, receive OSH education by the time they finish high school. The state partners are exploring and assessing mechanisms and partnerships that can aid in institutionalizing education on these critical life skills. This presentation will discuss the strategies used and challenges faced in working with a variety of programs. Key findings include: 1) Identifying relevant educational standards is critical (i.e. Common Core, 21^st Century Skills, Health Education, Career Technical Education; 2) OSH skills must be promoted as  critical thinking, problem-solving skills; 3) High school programs geared toward the workplace (career technical, “linked learning”, partnership academies, cooperative education) are the most receptive to integrating OSH training; 4) A multi-level intervention (including policy-level strategies, teacher training, and on-going outreach) is most likely to be effective.