SAFE Work Campaign Dares Youth to Assess the Risk

WINNIPEG – Building on the momentum of SAFE Manitoba's award-winning Spot the Hazard campaign, the WCB, in partnership with Workplace Safety and Health, is launching the next phase of its youth campaign.

Targeted at young workers aged 15 to 24, the campaign focuses on the second part of the SAFE Work risk management acronym: Assess the risk.

“This is just another way for us to get youth involved in injury prevention,” says Doug Sexsmith, WCB President and CEO. “Spot the Hazard was so successful in making a true impact on the younger generation of Manitobans. Our goal is that Assess the Risk will have an even greater impact and help save lives.”

The campaign features webisodes at www.safemanitoba.com where youth are challenged to assess the risk in four workplace scenarios, representing the top injuries that occurred among youth in 2007. Those include hand injuries, ankle sprains, back injuries and head injuries.

“Young workers account for 18 per cent of time loss injuries in Manitoba, with rates spiking between May and September,” says Sexsmith. “Many of these employees serve their first job in the service industry – and many don't realize the risks they face.”

Jennifer Dowd, a young worker who suffered a serious back injury while working in retail, understands the importance of workplace training.

“I didn’t know I had the right to refuse unsafe working conditions and hadn’t received proper training,” she recalls. “I now know how important it is to speak up and not be afraid to ask questions.”

To ensure youth learn about workplace safety solutions, media components such as billboards, radio, posters and cinema advertising will drive visitors to safemanitoba.com where they will experience workplace safety and health solutions through an online quiz. Upon correctly assessing the risk, youth will receive a ballot to enter to win a MacBook or iPod. They can also join the Facebook group, The Youth of SAFE Work Manitoba.

“We know that reaching out to young people requires different tactics, because they respond to messages in different ways through different mediums,” says Sexsmith. “Ultimately, the message that we’re driving home remains the same: all injuries are preventable.”

The SAFE Work strategy is a joint initiative of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba and the Workplace Safety and Health Division to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses through promotion, protection and education.

Contact:

Warren Preece, Director of Communications
WCB Manitoba
(204) 954-4113