Students get health and safety training

Grimsby-based ForeFront Training hopes to cut the number of injuries which cost British industry more than 1bn a year by teaching students about the risks while they are at school.

The company is advising schools and colleges across the UK on how to prepare pupils for working lives by teaching them how to handle heavy loads without the risk of sprains, back ache and other mishaps.

Among the first to benefit have been staff and students who attended a series of hands-on training courses at the Oasis Academy, Immingham, on international guidelines for handling weighty equipment.

Jill Lambton, Finance and Business Manager for the Oasis, said: "The training was delivered to a diverse audience including tutors and students with a range of experience."

It is not just the 1bn annual bill to British industry for time lost from employees being off with injuries that is driving the need for more training.

New legislation in January 2009 saw fines of up to 20,000 and prison sentences introduced to ensure companies train staff properly in correct lifting procedures.

ForeFront is offering a range of courses in line with the Government's policy to include risk as a life skill which children should learn about at school.

The company says its courses are very different from the outdated "knees bent, back straight" approach still taught by many trainers and in-house teams.

One of the key lessons is that it does not matter whether a pupil's future work is manual labour or in an office. Moving heavy files can run the same risk of injury as bulky equipment.