The Management of Occupational Health and Safety in Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

Vocational education and training (VET) providers must provide a safe and healthy learning and working environment for their students and employees. Establishing a culture with effective occupational health and safety (OHS) procedures helps VET providers in meeting this duty of care. The objective of this study was to describe the practices of sustainable OHS management in VET. The procedures were studied in six VET provider organizations; 6 workshops were arranged and 58 employees were interviewed. The procedures revealed were categorized into preventative actions, actions during the incident, and actions after the incident. Prevention is possible when sustained proactive and reactive actions are directed at the individual, team, working environment, and organization levels. The results will guide VET and other organizations toward shaping OHS policies and safety culture in the field of education. Furthermore, developing safety culture may achieve other VET providers’ goals, such as quality of education and student performance.