Students get creative about young worker safety

Secondary and tertiary students throughout New South Wales are being encouraged to enter the 2007 Young Workers Poster Competition.

WorkCover NSW chief executive officer, Jon Blackwell said: "The poster competition aims to raise awareness of occupational health and safety risks for workers aged under 25, and the theme for 2007 is Safe manual handling. Smart move.

"Because of their inexperience, young workers are at a higher risk of being injured on the job than most other age groups."

Almost 14% of NSW workplace injuries occur among the state's 210,000 young workers, with more than 20 injuries recorded each day.

Blackwell said it is imperative for employers to consider the inexperience of young workers by educating them about safety issues and anticipating, eliminating and controlling risks in the workplace.

"Although continued improvement in occupational health and safety has seen injuries and fatalities in NSW fall to their lowest level in 18 years, it is important that young workers are given the necessary support to perform their work safely.

"More than 300 students across NSW entered the competition in 2006 and it was encouraging to see the diverse and original approaches in educating young workers about workplace safety.

"The competition will also help improve safety awareness among students before they enter the workforce," Mr Blackwell said.

The competition is open to students aged between 15 and 25 and entries can be lodged in either the secondary or tertiary category, with cash prizes from $3000 as well as iPod Nanos.

Entries into the 2007 WorkCover NSW Young Workers Poster Competition will be accepted until 15 June 2007. Forms are available at: www.youngworkers.com.au.