October is National Safe Work Month – a time when employers and workers across Australia come together to commit to creating safe and healthy workplaces.
This year’s theme, “Safety: Every Job, Every Day,” encourages all workplaces—regardless of occupation, industry, location, or size—to prioritise safety in their daily tasks.
The Four Key Steps of Risk Assessment
The standard risk assessment process involves four key steps:
- Identify Hazards: The first step in risk management is to identify potential hazards that could cause harm to people. This harm can be physical, psychological, or both. Even if you already have a risk register, it’s crucial to review it regularly to ensure it remains up-to-date and relevant.
- Assess Risks: After identifying hazards, the next step is to assess the risks. This involves considering the potential consequences if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of such exposure occurring.
- Control Risks: Controlling risks is the most critical step in the risk management process. It involves taking practical actions to eliminate the risks or, if elimination is not possible, to minimise them as much as you can.
- Review Controls: Effective risk management requires regular review of control measures to ensure they are working as intended. Don’t wait for something to go wrong; proactive review is essential.
National Safe Work Month is for everyone!
At NextGen Skills, we offer a unique Group Training model, employing plumbing and painting apprentices and placing them with host employers for hands-on industry experience.
This approach supports apprentices in earning a wage while working toward a Nationally Recognised Qualification and provides businesses with flexible, reliable workforce solutions. We ensure our students have all the personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the role. WHS training and support paperwork is a key focus in our programs, this includes pastoral support, mentorship and advice.
All of our host employers complete a rigorous Host Safety Assessment (HSA) to ensure that they meet current safety standards before we even consider putting an apprentice with them for on-the-job training. Our strong network of host employers ensures apprentices are matched based on their preferences, skills, and location, with opportunities across commercial, residential, and industrial sectors.
NextGen Skills strives to maintain the highest safety standards every day, during training and at the worksite. Dedicated to fostering skilled, confident tradespeople, we aim to build a sustainable future for Western Australia’s construction industry while delivering value to both apprentices and employers.