Nineteen nonprofit organizations across the state have received a total of $870,000 in training grants to strengthen worker safety and health, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced today.
The annual MIOSHA Consultation Education and Training grants are awarded for the development and implementation of safety and health training and services, specifically to help support small and medium-sized business.
“Protecting Michigan’s working men and women requires continual innovation and training in the workplace,” said MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman. “These grants help ensure more organizations, including employer groups, labor organizations and other nonprofits across the state, can provide critical training and services to protect our workers in a wide range of industries.”
Bay De Noc Community College will develop and present tree trimming and chainsaw safety training to address awareness and methods to prevent and reduce workplace injuries in the forest, landscaping and tree trimming and clearing industries. For more information contact Renee Lundberg at 906-217-4224 or lundberr@baycollege.edu.
The Consultation Education and Training Grant Program is designed to:
- Increase the number of employers and employees providing and receiving occupational safety and health education, training and prevention services, especially employers with less than 100 employees.
- Encourage the development of new strategies for providing occupational safety and health education, training and prevention services.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of those alternative strategies and providers.
Among the awarded projects, the Center for Workplace Violence Prevention, Inc. received the largest training grant and plans to develop and deliver training for comprehensive workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat management, personal safety and survival skills, verbal de-escalation skills during an aggressive encounter and training targeted to “lone worker” safety. Training will also be provided on creating a safety and health program. The center is a returning grantee and received the largest funding amount for fiscal year 2022.
“Thanks to the grant funding, we offer programs with a training focus that is applicable to workplaces of every kind, size and location,” said Center for Workplace Violence Prevention, Inc. Program Director Marilyn Knight. “We regularly receive positive feedback from training program participants and expressions of gratitude to MIOSHA CET for making this training available to workplaces in the public sector that otherwise wouldn’t have access.”
Parents for Student Safety Employment Standards (PASSES), also a returning grantee, will use the grant funding to provide focused student training in construction trades, industrial arts classes and their co-op program. Some training topics include heat exhaustion, hazard recognition, fall protection, teen labor laws and the right of individuals to request and receive safety and equipment training. Trainings are held at high schools throughout Michigan.
“The MIOSHA CET Grant program allows PASSES to teach safety fundamentals to Michigan high school students before they enter the workforce,” said PASSES President Donna Weaver. “Safety life skills such as safe chemical-handling, PPE and proper lifting are crucial to these most-vulnerable young workers.”
Other projects that received grant funding include targeted safety and health training in high-hazard industries such as healthcare and manufacturing and training for implementing silica exposure control methods in the construction industry.
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