OCCUPATIONAL Safety and Health (OS&H) in several local workplaces will be invigorated following the graduation last Friday of several employees from a twelve -week training course by the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE).

This disclosure was made by Mr. Dale Beresford, Chairman of the National Advisory Commission on Occupational Health and Safety (NACOSH).

The graduation exercise took place at the IDCE Offices in the Queens College Compound.

The certificate course in OS&H had been supported by NACOSH, the Guyana Fire Service, The Government Analysts Department, the Ministry of Labour and the Bureau of Standards among others.

Participants had been sponsored by their respective work places which included Banks DIH, Guyana Telecommunications and Telegraph (GT&T), Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and GUYOIL as public entities and Prettipaul Investments Limited.

Lecturers included technically qualified persons in the field of OS&H from the Ministry of Labour, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, NACOSH, the Bureau of Standards and a number of freelancers who are experts in the field.

Commenting on the graduation of thirty three persons, Mr. Beresford disclosed that the training which they received would enable them to carry out inspections which could lead to the detection of workplace hazards and their amelioration.

The hazards they had been trained to recognise and manage include fire hazards, situations with potential for accidents and factors which contribute to workplace stress such as high temperatures, inadequate or hazardous furnishings among others.

The training comprised lectures and field visits and an introduction to yoga as a stress relief technique.

They also received a refresher training programme in grammar and composition and were also taught how to prepare technical reports on OS&H.

Beresford said that the participants can now move one step higher on the rung of the OS&H ladder by enrolling in the Diploma Programme being run by the University of Guyana.

“The IDCE Course was essentially a foundation course which qualifies them for participation in the UG programme,” he said.

He disclosed that he was happy about the sustained interest of the participants and added that he was sure that the workplaces which had sponsored them would benefit from the knowledge that they will be taking back on completion of the IDCE course. (Clifford Stanley)