Training has a direct impact on a company’s safety and operations. High-quality and appropriate training provides the opportunity to improve all of a company’s HSEQ areas. Training is an effective tool when a company wants to ensure the Health and Safety of work and the working environment in a company, minimise the impact that operations have on the Environment, ensure the Quality of operations, products and services, and develop all of the above. In practice, the HSEQ areas apply to all active companies – regardless of the sector – and their implementation is also governed by legislation.
High-quality training can be provided in person, as online training or a combination of the two. Each company should choose the implementation method that best suits its situation. This choice is influenced by factors such as the company’s need, the training target, number of participants, schedule, whether or not completion is mandatory, and the possible need for refresher training at certain intervals.
Training should be seen as a continuous activity that encourages learning rather than as individual events. The best results are achieved when training is included in continuous development and improvement of the company’s operations and safety culture. In other words, this means long-term commitment. In this case, continuous learning becomes a normal part of operations at all company levels, which also has a positive impact on HSEQ indicators.
Here are seven reasons why every company should invest in training:
1) Training is a statutory requirement.
In Finland, the Occupational Safety and Health Act specifies the instruction, guidance and orientation that must be provided to employees in order to ensure that their work is safe in all situations. The obligation also includes the requirement to supplement the training and guidance provided to employees whenever necessary.
2) Training is an integral part of occupational safety and health.
The employer is responsible for organising occupational safety and health, which includes both legally binding and voluntary measures aimed at ensuring the safety and health of employees. It is the employer’s responsibility to provide adequate training to prevent, eliminate and reduce work-related hazards.
3) Training makes work possible.
Some types of work cannot be performed without completing separate approved training. For example, training is required before an employee can do hot work, handle products containing diisocyanates, or do electrical work.
4) Training improves and develops the safety culture.
A key part of developing safety culture is paying constant attention to safety. Training plays an important role in teaching safe work methods and also when ensuring that employees are able to actively identify hazards and deviations in their daily work. Informed employees make more safety observations, which in turn helps to develop the safety culture.
5) Training reduces the number and severity of accidents.
Despite all precautions, accidents can still happen at work. Trained employees have fewer accidents and they are often less serious, because the employees know how to prevent greater damage and what to do in case of an emergency.
6) Training saves money in the long term.
Less accidents and disruptions at work also saves money. Investigating and dealing with the consequences of occupational accidents, production interruptions and other unpleasant events is expensive – not to mention possible human suffering – so it’s better to prevent them from happening in advance.
7) Trained employees are more satisfied, more motivated and healthier.
Providing training opportunities shows that a company cares about the safety, health and professional development of its employees. Training helps employees develop their skills and competences and learn new things, which is linked to job satisfaction and motivation. Trained employees are also healthier because, in addition to knowing how to ensure their safety, they also feel better mentally.
In other words, training is an effective tool that makes it possible to have a comprehensive impact on the company. It is suitable for teaching current practices and for developing HSEQ areas, and is also linked to well-being at work. However, the most important impact of training is ensuring that employees are more likely to go home healthy from work every day.
Author:
Suvi Laurila
Content Creator, Training Services
Suvi Laurila is an online training content provider in Kiwa Training Services. Working with the rest of the content production team, she is responsible for producing Kiwa’s high-quality online training – all the way from design to finished product. She is particularly interested in the role that training plays in developing safety culture and safety communications at companies.
