Teach health and safety at university, says EU-OSHA

Occupational safety and health training should be an integral part of university education and not something that young people only encounter when they enter the world of work, says the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

“Education is key if we are to develop a culture of risk prevention,” EU-OSHA director Jukka Takala said. “But it is not just about teaching children and young adults to live and work safely. If occupational safety and health is truly to become an integral part of business management and operations, all future managers and professionals need risk education about their role and responsibilities.”

Its new report, Mainstreaming occupational safety and health training into university education, says that a lack of teaching staff who have expertise in occupational safety and health, a lack of suitable teaching materials, a lack of funds and university courses that favour theoretical learning methods over practical, active ones can all prevent health and safety from being integrated into university courses.

The report also highlights examples of good practice from around Europe, including the University of Liverpool, where engineering courses include occupational health and safety elements.

The report can be downloaded from the EU-OSHA website at http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/mainstream_osh_university_education