SENIOR Occupational and Safety (OSH) Officers attached to the Ministry of Labour (MoL), on Monday, began a five-day training on the ISO 45001 Lead Auditor Occupational Health Safety Management Systems.
The training is part of the MoL OSH Department Virtual General/Oil and Gas Industry Refresher and Lead Auditor Training Programme. The certification will play a major role in the OSH officers’ work in the manufacturing, energy, industrial and marine sectors.
Some of the training topics being covered during the training include workplace hygiene and illness prevention; guidance for cleaning and disinfecting; job hazard analysis/risk assessment; walking, working surfaces and fall protection; safety leadership; hazard recognition programmes; ergonomic hazards in general industry; accident investigation: basic; scaffold safety; confined space safety; stairway and ladder safety and personal protective and life-saving equipment.

The training programme is the brainchild of Minister Joseph Hamilton, who has continually emphasised his goal to reduce the number of workplace accidents across all sectors in Guyana, particularly through capacity building.
“The minister has been actively ensuring that the ministry has OSH officers that are efficient and trained at the highest technical levels so that they can properly monitor all sectors,” a release from the ministry noted.
During the opening of the training on Monday, Minister Hamilton highlighted that it is important for OSH officers to be competent and respectable in executing their mandates.

The minister also emphasised the importance of OSH and proper monitoring, highlighting the need for adherence to OSH laws by all organisations, including government agencies.
Since assuming office last August, the minister has pledged to ensure Guyana has the most robust labour sector.
Also present at Monday’s opening session were OSH Consultant, Gweneth King; Board of Industrial Training (BIT) Chief Executive Officer, Richard Maughn; Trainer and Principal Consultant/ Business Crisis Consultant, Garth Vincent; and MoL Permanent Secretary, Bishram Kuppen.