What Happened?
The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $10,687,000 in work training grants to 78 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The funding will be used to support workplace training and education programs to improve productivity and worker satisfaction.
Goal
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is providing more than $10 million in federal grants to nonprofit organizations that offer education and training for workers. The grants support efforts by nonprofit organizations to:
- Increase workplace safety
- Help employees recognize health hazards
- Identify and adopt injury and illness prevention measures
- Inform workers of their rights and responsibilities
The grants are being distributed through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, which focuses on educating workers in underserved communities with low-literacy rates who are operating in high-hazard industries. For the 2014 fiscal year, the categories of awards were:
- Targeted Topic Training: 39 grants to support the development of training and materials for avoiding workplace hazards totaling $4,546,147
- Capacity Building Development: 14 grants to provide education and assistance regarding worker safety and training to employees and employers totaling $2,805,085
Recipients of the Capacity Building Development grants must create organizational capacity to provide safety and health training continually. In addition, $3,335,768 in one-year follow-on grants was divided among 24 recipients of Capacity Building Development awards in 2013. The grant program has helped provide access to safety information and training for about 2 million workers since 1978.
Education Partnerships
OSHA has also formed alliances with several nonprofits to create an ongoing partnership to develop and implement quality education and training programs. These alliances can be made with a variety of nonprofit organizations such as:
- Consulates
- Unions
- Trade and professional organizations
- Community- and faith-based groups
- Business and educational institutions
Through the alliance program, OSHA helps nonprofit organizations develop compliance assistance tools and resources to create high-performing, sustainable workforce training programs. OSHA also collaborates with partners to present information and training opportunities at conferences and community events so workers are aware of their rights and responsibilities.
OSHA recently announced an alliance with the Heartland Workers Center of Omaha to provide education, guidance and training resources to staff and immigrant workers. The training programs center on protecting the health and safety of all workers, as well as promoting awareness of workers’ rights, employer responsibilities and the OSHA compliance process. Because many of the workers the HWC advocates for are immigrants, the education and training programs will be offered in both English and Spanish.
Since 1971 when OSHA was founded, workplace fatalities have dropped 65 percent while occupational illness and injury declined by 67 percent. Average daily worker deaths has fallen from 38 workers to 12, and worker injuries and illnesses are down from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers to 3.4 per 100 in the last 40 years.
In 2012, 19.3 percent of worker fatalities in private industries were in construction. The four leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were:
- Falls
- Struck by an object
- Electrocutions
- Caught-in/between
These four causes of death account for 54 percent of construction fatalities. These common hazards are a main focus of OSHA training and education programs.
Workforce Boosts
Gov1 has reported on a variety of workforce development grants, many of which support job training programs for underserved or minority populations.