Did you know that the most likely person to be injured on the job is a younger worker? That’s why it’s so important for us to learn about workplace safety, which we’ve been learning about in our Maker class. To show how I’ve learned about safety in work environments, I created an artifact. This artifact is these letters I’ve made.

The main word, ‘Safety’, is symbolic of the entire unit. Each letter represents a different piece of  the Career Education Unit we’ve just finished. The S shows off how dangerous it is to be a young worker, featuring statistics such as ‘1 young worker is injured in BC every hour.’ The A features some of the rights of working that lots of young workers don’t know. This includes the right to training and orientation and the right to refuse unsafe work practices. The F lists some potential hazards at jobs that we’ve learned, like noise hazards, musculoskeletal injuries (such as sprains and strains) and harmful chemicals and minerals such as asbestos. The E lists different types of protective equipment to protect against those hazards, like gloves, earbuds, and hard hats. The T represents your right to thorough orientation and training. The Y sums up one of the most important ideas of the unit- you have the right to refuse unsafe work practices! This is an idea that we’ve been taught in a series of ways. One of the first things we did in this unit was watch a short documentary where four young workers who had been in accidents in their workplaces described their lives. Then, we watched other videos about safe work practices in other industries, such as construction and retail. There’s a lot that you have to do to be safe at work. If you feel like you are using unsafe practices, or don’t know how to use a piece of equipment safely, talk to your employers or supervisors. You have the right to safe work! 

We also have a test coming up, on workplace safety. Once we pass this test, we’ll be ready to understand the safety well enough to begin jobs! 

Thanks for reading my blog post!