Keeping young people safe at work

Remember your first job? No doubt you have several stories about things that made you apprehensive or uncomfortable. Or even a bit frightened.

Consider this:

• More than 1.5 million young people aged 15 to 24 work across Ontario, and every year more than 6,000 are injured seriously enough to need time off work.
• Statistics show that young workers are more likely to get injured or killed on the job compared to their more experienced coworkers. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, between 2011 and 2020, there were more than 70,000 injuries reported among workers aged 15 to 24.
• Forty percent of all workplace injuries happen during the first six months on the job.

If you’re a parent, a caregiver, or someone else interested in keeping a young person safe on the job, First Job, Safe Job is for you. Here you’ll find practical, useful safety information you can share with the teens and young adults you care about. We promise it isn’t dry and boring! It provides you with creative ways to pass on important messages and tips in conversations that matter.

This blog is produced by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), a not-for-profit health and safety association in Ontario, Canada. WSPS is dedicated to ensuring workers – the young ones and the older ones – arrive home safe at the end of the workday. If you have questions, please get in touch. We’re here to help.

Young people are always thinking about plans – for after work, for the weekend, for the summer, for school. Let’s help them stay safe so they can reach their full potential and turn those plans into reality. Their future is our future.