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Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university ...

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<strong>Mainstreaming</strong> <strong>occupational</strong> <strong>safety</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>health</strong> <strong>into</strong> <strong>university</strong> educationF o r e w o r d<strong>Mainstreaming</strong> <strong>occupational</strong> <strong>safety</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>health</strong> (OSH)<strong>into</strong> the education of children <strong>and</strong> young people has animportant part to play in developing <strong>and</strong> improving <strong>safety</strong>cultures in the workplace. This is recognised in EuropeanCommunity strategy on <strong>occupational</strong> <strong>health</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>safety</strong> <strong>and</strong>in the OSH strategies of the Member States.In particular, there has been increasing recognition thatrisk education should form part of the training for thoseentering manual vocational trades <strong>and</strong> there has been agreat deal of activity to embed it <strong>into</strong> vocational courses<strong>and</strong> develop suitable, participative learning methods <strong>and</strong>resources.However, professionals entering the workforce also needrisk education in order to develop the necessary OSHskills, knowledge <strong>and</strong> attitudes. This need is more evidentfor architects <strong>and</strong> civil engineers who will have legalduties regarding the design, planning <strong>and</strong> executionof construction projects. But if OSH is truly to becomean integral part of business management in all sizes oforganisations, then all future managers <strong>and</strong> professionals need relevant risk education,not just those who will work in high risk sectors. Health professionals also need toenter their careers having a clear underst<strong>and</strong>ing of <strong>occupational</strong> <strong>health</strong>.As there has been less activity regarding risk education to date at <strong>university</strong>-level; <strong>and</strong>because it presents some special challenges, related to the autonomy of universities<strong>and</strong> the types of teaching methods traditionally used, the sharing of experiences <strong>and</strong>resources at the <strong>university</strong>-level is particularly important. It is important to be awareof the challenges <strong>and</strong> to identify what seem to be the more successful approachesthat can be taken. I hope that this report, which presents a variety of cases from theMember States <strong>and</strong> beyond, will contribute to this process <strong>and</strong> provide practicalsupport to all those working on this issue, whether in the field of OSH or the field ofeducation.E u r o p e a n Ag e n c y f o r Sa f e t y a n d He a l t h a t Wo r kJukka TakalaDirectorEuropean Agency for Safety <strong>and</strong> Health at WorkJanuary 20105

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