Safety Matters: A Safety & Health Training for Young Workers

NIOSH and the American Industrial Hygiene Association present Safety Matters, a program to raise awareness among young people about workplace safety and health and to provide an understanding of the skills they need to become active participants in creating safe and healthy work environments. The materials presented in this module are based on a full NIOSH curriculum from, Youth@Work—Talking Safety.

Safety Matters is a one-hour interactive teaching module and PowerPoint presentation targeted to students in grades 7 through 12. It can be used by safety professionals to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to participate in safe and healthy work environments throughout their working lives. Safety Matters presents essential information and career-readiness skills through a focus on 8 Core Competencies, which are transferable, foundational workplace safety and health knowledge, skills and abilities. It will teach students:

• that all workers can be injured, become sick, or even be killed on the job
• that work-related injuries and illnesses are predictable and can be prevented
• how to identify hazards at work and predict how workers can be injured or made sick
• how to prevent injury and illness
• how to identify emergencies at work and decide on the best ways to address them
• that employers are responsible for, and workers have the right to, safe and healthy work
• how to find resources that help keep workers safe and healthy on the job
• how workers can communicate with others—including people in authority—when they feel unsafe or threatened

Safety Matters

Suggested citation

NIOSH, AIHA [2016]. Safety matters: a safety and health training for young workers. By Guerin RJ, Okun AO, Lacey SE. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2016-100

Supplemental Information

• Safety Matters PowerPoint Presentation
• Teen Workers: Real Jobs, Real Risks (Mallory’s Story) Video