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The University of New Brunswick’s online occupational health and safety course – launched three years ago – is providing great flexibility for its students across the country

B Y L I S A K O P O C H I N S K I

The workplace health and safety industry has grown greatly in the past decade as employers realize it plays a critical role in the imple-mentation of smart and responsible business

practices. After all, a healthy and safe work environ-ment often translates into longevity, success and loyal employees.

As the discipline of occupational health and safety (OH&S) changes to meet complex workplace requirements, so has the legislation governing OH&S practices. This in-creased stringency has contributed to a growing need for health and safety practitioners, supervisors, managers and leaders who are equipped with the knowledge and skills to control and manage potential workplace hazards.

In 2001, The University of New Brunswick (UNB) launched its first OHS online certificate program – the first of its kind in Canada. In 2009, the university rede-signed and launched its online Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (COHS).

Deborah Brideau, Marketing and Recruitment Lead for the university’s online health and safety programs and

courses, says there was a need by industry to have formal-ized online training for people in the rapidly emerging field of OH&S.

As a result, UNB launched its Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety in 2013.

“Many people also work in areas where they do not have access to face-to-face training or it does not fit within their work schedule,” she says. “This program was devel-oped as the perfect learning solution for people who are already in the workforce. Students within the program are typically looking to upgrade their skills, transition into an OH&S role or write the CRSP [Canadian Registered Safety Professional] designation exam.”

The Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) recognizes UNB’s program as meeting the Factor 1 formal educational requirements necessary to apply to write the CRSP certification exam.

“The goal was a fully accessible certificate program in OH&S to be available to every student everywhere, when-ever the student is ready to study and learn,” says Brideau.

“Many people also work in areas where they do not have access to face-to-face training or it does not fit within their work schedule. This program was developed as the perfect learning solution for people who are already in the workforce.” – Deborah Brideau, Marketing and Recruitment Lead,

Online Health and Safety, University of New Brunswick

Continued on page 43

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Certification vs. diplomaTaught by professionals in the field, UNB’s OH&S Certificate program focuses on equipping learners with practical process skills, in additional to the foundational technical content. The program is designed to meet different needs. For instance, current OH&S practitioners may take the certificate program to add to their OH&S credentials. This program is also designed to prepare students to write the exam to earn the CRSP designa-tion as granted by the BCRSP. The program closely follows the 11 domains covered in the CRSP certification exam blueprint.

The OH&S Advanced Diploma program is designed to further the learning of practitioners looking to become leaders in the area of health

and safety. The Advanced Diploma offers a mixture of business manage-ment skills as well as specialized technical health and safety skills.

This program is made up of four core management courses that fo-cus on business, leadership, communications, workplace training and the psychology of safety in the workplace. Students will then select four elec-tive courses from the offered eight elective courses dealing with specific advanced technical topics in OH&S.

The workload for each course is approximately 35 to 40 hours, with the cost per course at approximately $550. More information can be found at http://bit.ly/UNB_Online.

Brideau says response to the university’s online program has been very positive.

“ Being equipped with the knowledge from this course empowers me to provide better customer service for our membership.”

– Ed Gregory, WORKSAFELY™ Safety Advisor, South Region

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“We are very pleased to have found this niche offering by providing a program of high quality accessible to employees everywhere whenever they have time to study,” she says. “It’s working well and students love the depth of programming and its flexibility.”

MHCA employees pursue programA number of MHCA employees are pursuing the certificate program – all with the intent to gain a better understanding of health and safety and the ability to use this knowledge in the workplace.

“It benefits me by being a more helpful employee for MHCA, which translates to a greater ability to assist our companies going forward,” explains Ed Gregory, MHCA’s Safety Advisor, South Region. “Being equipped with the knowledge from this course empowers me to provide better customer service for our membership.”

Floyd Buhler, MHCA’s Safety Advisor, Western Region, agrees and adds, “The biggest benefit is getting the theoretical and historical context of occupational safety and health and [seeing] its impact on organiza-tional behaviour. Knowing we are progressing [as an industry] that will no longer tolerate injury and death in the workplace gives me a real per-spective of the importance of jobs like mine, as well as the importance of OH&S as a career.”

Sarah Higgins, WORKSAFELY™’s Training Coordinator, is also pur-suing the certificate program and appreciates its convenience.

“You can work through the courses at your convenience at home. I would not have been able to go back to school full time, so UNB was the number one choice for me,” she says. “Management Leadership and Organizational Behavior was one course that I enjoyed. It was interesting to learn about man-agement within companies and the different managing processes.”

Gregory has found all the courses interesting and relevant and says, “I can use and apply something from every module into my everyday work life.”

For Buhler, his favourite course has been Fundamentals in OH&S, which has given him a thorough background on the origin of safety theo-ry and why it’s so important to all industries.

“It was interesting to follow the progression of attitudes in the work-place over the last 120 years and the increasing intolerance of risk in the workplace,” he notes.

Buhler also loves the flexibility of UNB’s program, especially since his life is so hectic with a full-time job and two toddlers. Still, he plans on pursuing his CRSP designation.

“I needed a program that would allow me to do courses in the three or four hours a week that I can find free time. I am able to study at my pace and complete courses as I am able,” Buhler says.

“ You can work through the courses at your convenience at home. I would not have been able to go back to school full time, so UNB was the number one choice for me.”

– Sarah Higgins, Training Coordinator, WORKSAFELY™

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