College receives grant for workplace safety training

Waubonsee Community College has secured financial support for the college's efforts to make workplaces safer in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties.

On Sept. 30, U.S. Department of Labor awarded Waubonsee an Occupational Safety and Health Administration Susan Harwood Training Grant worth $119,505 to allow the college's Workforce Development Department to provide free workplace safety training to employers and staffing agencies that hire temporary workers.

The training would be targeted to temporary workers who may have limited English proficiency and low literacy skills, and so may not be as aware as other workers of worker rights or safety hazards in the workplaces in which they may be placed.

Training topics would include fire safety, ergonomics, materials handling, hazard communication, lockout/tagout, machine guarding and worker rights under OSHA.

All training would be conducted in the workplace by certified safety trainers.

Local employers interested in the training opportunities should contact Waubonsee's Workforce Development Department at (630) 906-4152.

Visit www.waubonsee.edu.