JHSC Certification Training: New deadlines and options help you stay in compliance
Most workplaces in Ontario with 20 or more employees must have at least two members of a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certified in health and safety, but earlier this year COVID-related closures created compliance challenges for some workplaces. Safe and convenient options now exist to help workplaces remain in compliance. But before we talk about those, here's a quick overview of what certification training is all about.
Certification Training Part One gives participants an understanding of health and safety fundamentals that they can apply to their own workplaces. Contents include health and safety and the law, and how to recognize and control hazards. Members also learn about the JHSC's roles and responsibilities, for example, conducting workplace inspections, identifying hazards and making recommendations, and investigating accidents.
Certification Training Part Two builds on Part One. Participants learn how to identify hazards specific to their workplace and industry sector, and develop health and safety action plans to address those hazards. Part Two must be taken within 12 months of completing Part One. Heed this requirement. Learners who do not complete Part Two within 12 months must take Part One training again.
Participants who successfully complete Parts One and Two receive certification status, which remains valid for three years. To remain certified, these JHSC members must complete Certification Refresher Training every three years.
What's changed
To accommodate JHSC members participating in certification training, learners
- now have two options for taking Certification Part One training: classroom training (on site or in a safe public setting), and distance learning (similar to classroom training but in a virtual, interactive format)
- who completed Part One within the 6 months before May 1, 2020 now have an additional 6 months starting May 1 to complete Certification Part Two training
- whose certification expired/s between February 28, 2020 and August 31, 2020 now have until November 30, 2020 to complete Certification Refresher training.
Learners unable to register for a certification training or refresher course before the expiry date can apply online for
- an extension of up to a year from the Part 1 date to complete Part 2, or
- an exemption to complete the refresher training within three years of the expiry date
How WSPS can help
To help learners meet their compliance deadlines, we have scheduled distance learning and classroom sessions of Certification Training Part One, Certification Training Part Two and Certification Refresher Training between now and the end of the year.
Coming soon: e-versions of Certification Training Part One, which will allow participants to complete the training in a setting of their choosing and at their own pace within a certain time period. Check our Certification Training web page for updates.
Distance learning and classroom sessions are available in a private setting - with multiple participants from a single organization - or in a public setting. Distance learning is an interactive learning experience that provides the same benefits of in-person classroom training, but participants can join from anywhere that's convenient. Instruction is delivered in real time by a live facilitator over an internet-based platform. Participants can engage with the facilitator and each another. Find out more about Virtual Classroom training.
All certification training providers must be approved by the province's Chief Prevention Officer (CPO). WSPS' certification training is CPO-approved.
