For many years, employers and occupational health and safety (OHS) practitioners in South Africa had to be content with poor or mediocre health and safety training for personnel.
The Saacosh Academy is proud to be part of a new era in health and safety training that will truly empower those with the best qualifications to excel in the occupational health and safety field.
The Occupational Health and Safety Practitioner (OHSPRAC) Program, offered through the Saacosh Academy, was accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) in 2018.
Francois Smith, global occupational health and safety specialist, says the standard of so-called health and safety qualifications available in South Africa today are sadly not comparable with world norms.
Smith, managing director of Saacosh, has a passionate interest in the development of health and safety professionals. However, after having done numerous comparative surveys of the qualification and skill levels of OHS personnel in South Africa versus of those in the USA, Australia and Europe, he almost gave up his aspiration of developing OHS people.
The findings were very discouraging, to say the least, Smith says. He says the fact that there is an urgent need for quality training, led him and other OHS professionals to take on the challenging task to define, develop and present a practical and comprehensive two-level training program for OHS practitioners in the South African industrial sectors.
In 2018 the Academy became an accredited provider of education and training in the OHS industry.
Smith says the complete OHSPRA training program will prepare personnel to competently manage occupational safety and health at site level and will take an individual two years to complete. The first year consists of ten knowledge modules that include topics such as OHS legislation, risk assessments, investigations, interpersonal skills and human behavioural sciences.
The second year contains nine practical skills modules that is completed through our online learning centre and the third set of six work experience modules are spread over the total study period.
Prospective students have three choices when it comes to the modality of study.
Students can complete the training through attending face-to-face classroom sessions at the Saacosh Academy’s training venues in Kathu or Roodepoort.
Another option is to follow a blended learning programme of web-based sessions and online activities. From early next year students will also have the choice to complete the full OHSPRAC training programme online through an advanced virtual academy.
Smith says those who have been in the safety profession for a while and who have attended several short courses or in-house training, have the option of applying to become a candidate in their Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.
A Saacosh mentor will be designated to assist a successful applicant to acquire a formal NQF qualification, which will soon become a legal requirement.
- People who are interested in the training programs can contact Henriette at henriette@saacosh.com or Francois at fsmith@saacosh.com. You can also call them on 071-802-8415 or 083-609-1262 to find out more about this golden opportunity to improve your education level.
