IWIF, MERVO Partnership Increases Workplace Safety Training for Students

In an effort to reduce workplace injuries among Maryland teens the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund, the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurance company, developed a teacher’s guide called: Train the Trainer: Safety for Young Workers.

The guide, which raises awareness about the alarming number of working teen injuries, was introduced recently to educators at Baltimore’s Merganthaler Vocational Technical High School at a staff development workshop. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, 200,000 working teens between the ages of 14 and 17 are injured on the job every year.

IWIF’s president and CEO Thomas Bromwell commented, “Teaching workplace safety to students is an investment in their future. Students who learn a trade and learn how to prevent injuries commonly associated with a particular trade possess the knowledge they need to succeed in the workplace.”

The guide describes the types of injuries most common in industries that typically employ teens such as restaurants, grocery stores, retail centers, gas stations, construction, offices and other service jobs. It also provides dozens of illustrated tip sheets and other support materials that teach students how to prevent industry-specific injuries.

IWIF plans to offer its Train the Trainer Program to other area vocational/technical high schools so more Maryland students can benefit from this information.

For more information about IWIF’s Safety for Young Workers Program, call IWIF at 1-800-264-IWIF.