The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has an
Outreach Training Program designed to help promote and teach basic safety tailored to
construction, maritime, and general industry in 10- and 30-hour courses. Additionally, they offer
15-hour classes for disaster site workers. These courses cover basic worker rights and OSHA
protections and explain how to identify, avoid, and prevent workplace hazards across a multitude
of areas of occupational safety and health. These courses are required in certain cities and by
certain employers.
This outreach program was utilized by more than 830,000 student last year, and is a fundamental
part of the training program for many companies. If your company does utilize this service
through a local OSHA Training Institute Education Center, however, it is important to know that
after February 29th, the trainer and student cards will change. They will be made of a more
durable card stock with authorizing logos, a watermark when copied, and a QR code for
authentication. Trainer cards will include trainer name, trainer ID number, expiration date, and
OTI Education Center where the trainer was authorized. Student cards will have student name,
trainer name, date of issue, and the OTI Education Center which produced the card. This can
mean that some employees need to be sure they have the correct card and identification when
this change occurs. Additionally, the fee has increased from $5 to $8 to replace a lost card.
If you currently utilize the Outreach Training Program and are unsure of how this change will
impact your business, or if you are interested in finding out if this program could benefit your
company from a risk management and educational standpoint, please contact us. If you have
anything to add about this upcoming change, please leave a comment.
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