Technical Education: Bridging the Gap in Health and Safety in Small Businesses

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An estimated 11 million students attend 20,000 vocational educational and other workforce- preparation programs in the United States. Publicly funded technical and vocational schools and colleges enroll approximately 51% of the nation's technical students-twice as many as any other group or organization offering degree or for-credit courses. However, there is almost no literature assessing the efficacy of safety and health education in technical school degree- granting programs. The purpose of the proposed research is to evaluate whether incorporating safety competency skills into post-secondary technical school programs will have a lasting effect on work-related-safety knowledge and practices. A recent review of curricula and instructor interviews indicate there is little safety and health training or evaluation at this time. Our hypothesis is that technical students who have health and safety training integrated into their education are better able to identify workplace hazards and engage in safe work practices when compared with technical students who have had minimal health and safety training. During this grant, we will develop, implement, and evaluate workplace health and safety curricula in two technical trades: metal fabrication and auto-collision repair. Both are high-hazard industries. Activities will be carried out in partnerships wth two public technical colleges: Hennepin Technical College (HTC) and Saint Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC). Accordingly, we will assess current training and develop competency-based safety and health training. We will track and evaluate students from three groups: students with none (Group 0), one (Group 1), and two (Group 2) years of study under the new curricula. In addition to assessments conducted during their education programs, each cohort will be followed about six months after they enter the workforce. Public health significance: Better methods are needed to assure that technical-trades workers are prepared to meet the health and safety challenges they confront during the course of their careers. The methods proposed here offer a new means of reaching workers who are likely to be employed in small and hazardous enterprises. Once entering the workforce, many graduates will receive little or no additional safety and health training.