Survey results indicate upcoming safety professional shortage

Contributed by Star Conrad, Director of Operations, Evergreen Safety Council 
Demand for occupational safety and health services will soon exceed the supply of trained and experienced professionals, according to results from a new NIOSH survey.

The national survey (.pdf file), commissioned by NIOSH in 2008 and performed by an independent firm, found that employers plan to hire at least 25,000 safety and health professionals over the next five years, but less than 13,000 new graduates are expected from academic programs. In addition, NIOSH said many of the projected vacancies likely will be filled by current employees or workers without occupational safety and health training.

The need for more trained professionals is especially great given the pending retirement of older safety professionals and new technologies that require specialized skills and knowledge, NIOSH Director John Howard said in an agency press release.

Other survey results include:

• Degree programs in occupational safety and health have experienced declines in university funding, especially those not funded through NIOSH.

• Employers want new graduates to have training in leadership and communication.

Are you looking to move into a Safety & Health career?  Evergreen Safety Council's Safety & Health Specialist certification series, as well as our more advanced Health & Safety Technician certification series can help.  Call or email Stephanie Dyck 800-521-0778 for more information and to request an information pamphlet today.

Safety Career Development

Contributed by Star Conrad, Director of Operations, Evergreen Safety Council 
A career in safety can take you down many different paths, such as Risk Management, Human Resources, Security or Operational Management.  To help prepare you to move forward in your career, ESC has partnered with the Washington Employers' Association to to bring Human Resources and Management training to ESC members and clients.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

8:00am - 12:00pm
Project Management

Increase your project completion rate. Effectively utilize team members and avoid “meeting burnout.”  Did you know that there is a growing trend in many companies to hire people to do project management exclusively? Currently, most companies expect their existing employees and managers to add “projects” to already full plates. But, the results are often spotty due to a lack of project management knowledge. 

The good news is that there are many tools and techniques that make for world-class project management. This class teaches the best practices for project management based upon current empirical research. Participants will apply the management theories and tools to their own projects and will create a complete project plan in the class.
In this course, you’ll use a simple one-page project management planning guide which will walk you through the steps that make the difference between project success and failure.  And, because your project partners are so integral to the success of your project, you’ll practice interviewing stakeholders and negotiating options.
Topics that will be covered include:
• World-class project management tools
• The importance of clear project goals
• How to ensure project support
• Using a Mind Map to capture ideas
• Getting your team on board

After completing this course, participants will be able to:
• Clarify project goals and deliverables
• Quick-start a project using a simple mapping tool
• Capture details of project action items
• Identify and collaborate with project stakeholders regarding their needs/concerns
• Delegate project tasks in a way appropriate to the person assigned the tasks
• Resolve conflicting expectations and project challenges

Cost for ½ day session: Mbr: $95 / Non: $115
Register Today!


Wednesday, October 5, 2011
1:00pm - 5:00pm
Keeping Your Cool Under Pressure
Research today indicates that EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is twice as important as IQ in an individual’s professional success. Your emotional intelligence is your ability to sense, understand and effectively apply power and depth of emotions as a source of energy, information, creativity, trust and connection. When EQ is absent, teamwork suffers and morale drops.

Emotions have never been welcomed in the workplace. We are conditioned to believe that work decision and business strategies should be based upon fact and logic. However, emotions are part of every interaction in your business and personal life. In the workplace, emotions are often unrecognized; but they are always there, and often interfere with organizational effectiveness.

Topics that will be covered include:
• Daniel Goleman’s research into emotional intelligence
• How fear and stress lead to unproductive behavior
• Why EQ matters to your career
• Keys to professional success: self-awareness and empathy
• What to do when your buttons get pushed!

After completing this course, participants will be able to:
• Identify Daniel Goleman’s EQ principles of self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness and social skills
• Analyze their own stress related quirks and develop alternatives
• Discuss their own issues more openly to increase their empathy skills
• Support other learners in their quest for greater mastery of interpersonal skills
• Practice new behavior within the safe confines of the classroom
• Learn to anticipate and prepare for challenging situations

Cost for ½ day session: Mbr: $95 / Non: $115
Register Today!

Keeping Cool and Project Management are taught by Susan Goldstein:
Ms. Goldstein is President of Puget Sound Training Associates and has been consulting, training and coaching for over 30 years. She obtained her Bachelor of Science from Portland State University and her Master of Arts from Marylhurst College. Ms. Goldstein has been growing leaders since 1976 and specializes in helping companies with their toughest people problems. She offers courses in communication and supervision for Washington Employers and provides coaching services to Washington Employers’ members upon request.

Job Opening: Compliance Coordinator – Seattle, WA

Responsibilities:
• Promotes the maintenance of a safe, accident free, and healthy work environment at all work locations (2 Bakeries, 16 depots, 16 outlet stores, 2 satellite truck repair shops) in Western Washington.
• Ensures safety policies and procedures are followed by all bakery personnel in compliance with company, state and Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules and regulations.
• Support corporate Safe Work Methods (SWM) in all aspects of employment and increased use of and adherence to Smith Safe Driving System by Sales and Transportation teams.
• Lead injury/accident investigation and procedural adherence and train specific Safe Work Methods on return-to-work.
• Participate in development of the Annual Safety Program and manage/coordinate Safety Programs and incentive celebrations for all locations.
• Coordinate administrative and operational departments within bakeries to ensure Safe Quality Food (SQF) standards and compliance; SQF Code specialist and regulatory (HACCP and MSDS, etc.) expert.
• Direct site certification processes, internal audits and compliance standards/certification direction.
• Assist with Corporate policy, manuals and work with outside agencies.
• Obtain regulatory/policy certification.

Desired Skills:
• BSc degree in safety is preferred; valid driver’s license and insurance.
• Previous safety experience, food manufacturing experience is a plus.
• Ability to read and interpret documents and write routine reports and correspondence.
• Speak effectively before groups and regulatory agencies.
• Solve practical problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations where only limited standardization may exist.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instruction furnished in oral, diagram or schedule form.

Email resumes or fax to: 206-726-7546

Franz Family Bakery is an AAP/EEO employer. All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of race, sex, age, religion, nationality, disability, veteran status. Visit US Bakery for company details and depot locations.

Scholarship Opportunity

Attention: ESC member company employees, children or stepchildren of employees, or children or stepchildren of member company owners. Applications for the $1,000 Monty C. Lish & Stanley O. McNaughton Scholarship for Safety and Health Careers must be postmarked by February 15, 2001.

The Evergreen Safety Council (ESC) Board of Directors established the Monty C. Lish & Stanley O. McNaughton Scholarship for Safety and Health Careers to honor Mr. Lish & Mr. McNaughton for their vast contributions to community service, education and particularly their dedication to ESC. The scholarship program was developed to encourage more college students to consider Safety and Health professions as viable and worthwhile careers.

Do you need to be an effec­tive train­er, pre­sen­ter or facil­i­ta­tor?

I do not like standing up in front of a crowd, but seated at a table I can present my ideas just fine. Why is that? I know lots of people on both sides of the “speaker” spectrum, and they all say/need the same thing: practice, practice, practice.

Participants in our Presentation Skills course learn to speak/present more effectively in a stand-up or round-table environment. This interactive class includes the basic principles of effective presentations, such as:

• style
• how to prepare and rehearse
• how to com­mu­ni­cate clearly and per­sua­sively with management, cus­tomers and employees
• the importance of audience interaction
• how to respond constructively to questions
• how to deliver engag­ing train­ing ses­sions, workshops and meeting presentations

Are you a sub­ject mat­ter expert who needs to share your knowledge with management or staff? This course will help you develop skills as a facil­i­ta­tor to run effec­tive and pro­duc­tive meet­ings – even in highly charged conditions.

This workshop allows participant to practice a variety of presentation styles, and includes critiquing presentation effectiveness and style.

Class size is limited to allow for group participation, and space is still available. The next class is Thursday, July 29th – Register today!

Becoming a Safety & Health Specialist
This course is part of ESC’s Safety & Health Specialist certification program, which is designed to provide participants with a solid foundation of knowledge in safety-related skills and activities. Each participant learns the state and federal health and safety regulations affecting all organizations. Successful completion of the entire training series prepares the participant to perform basic safety and health duties for the employer with confidence.

The SHS program consists of 22 safety and health topics, taught in 15 training sessions. Each session is one day in length, covering one or two subjects. Classes are open to everyone without prerequisites or commitment to the total program. You can simply attend the classes that interest you, or complete the entire series to be certified as a Safety and Health Specialist.