Raising Awareness of The ENETOSH Standards

in the MENA Region David Magee, OSH Literacy

Introduction and overview

• Introduction• What are The ENETOSH Standards?• The MENA Region • Why raising awareness of the ENETOSH Standards in the

MENA region is worthwhile• Where we are at• Work to be done• Conclusion and questions

The ENETOSH Standardu ENETOSH has developed a set of easy-to-access and easy-to-use

standards containing competence profiles for teachers and trainers in OSH

u The aim is to have a simple, but uniform set of professional standards and qualifications for OSH teachers and trainers across all European countries

The standard covers four fields of competence: 1. Education and training2. Safety and Health at work3. Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)4. OSH-management

CHECKLIST

European Qualifications Framework (EQF) Level DescriptorsEQF Level Knowledge &

qualificationsSkills Competencies

Level 1 Lower High school (16) GCSE/IGCE

Basic Entry Level First year apprentice

Basic

Level 2

Level 3 Upper – High School (18) (A levels/IB

Vocational Qualifications/ NEBOSH IGC

competent

Level 4 Advanced Certificates HNC

Level 5 Diploma HND Skilled

Level 6 Degree/ B.A/B.Sc

Level 7 Post Grad/Masters M.A M.Sc

Master Craftsman Highly specialised

Level 8 Doctoral/Ph.d

The Middle East North Africa (MENA region)

22 countries, 315 Million PeopleSometimes an additional 15 countries are included as MENA (World Bank reports): Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan

Changes in education and employment:u Diversifying their economies, especially in the GCC - away from

dependency on migrant workers and oil & gas:

u Paradigm shift in education away from the old academically-focused models towards Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) and giving young people skills more aligned to their needs, their countries and their future employers’ needs

u 50% reduction in funding for university places

u Corresponding growth in TVET from 5 – 10% young people in vocational training to 50%

u In KSA alone - 3 new TVET Centres opening every week

u Women entering the workplace

u Massive investment in infrastructure projects: Qatar World Cup, Expo 2020, Saudi 2030

Duty of Care and public perceptions

u With this massive increase in vocational education

u The higher numbers of young nationals entering the workplace

u The higher numbers of women entering the workplace

u Migrant workers rights and negative publicity

u OSH standards have been introduced

u Governments make safety and health training is mandatory

THE NEW GOLD RUSH:

NEW Oil Rush – OSH training in business

u Numerous unregulated, unqualified and unethical safety & health training providers

u Safety & health certification for sale

u Guaranteed 100% pass rate – even in English

u Workers forced to sign papers saying they have had and understood safety & health training

u Frees employers from liability

u Devalues OSH qualifications – many are now not recognised

u De-professionalises our profession

u Other far reaching long-term negative consequences

Colleges and training collegesu Training colleges in the region will typically have a one-year foundation

programme where students should achieve the requisite levels of English and other key skills needed to undertake an international programme of vocational studies

u Mostly staffed by ‘teachers’ who hold no more than a Level 3 (upper high-school, 120 hours) Certification English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teaching

u The most recognised is the (CELTA)

u The CELTA certificate can be gained by an 18 year old with no prior experience and no university level education. They don’t even need to be native speakers

u Nearly impossible to find a teacher working in training colleges who also hold any OSH qualifications or has any OSH experience;

u Especially so in female vocational training centres

u These ‘teachers and trainers’ are designing, delivering and assessing OSH programmes to prepare young people for the workplace and international vocational training programmes

Recent HABC survey found:

74% of employees in many parts of the region believe their training is outdated

69% of construction companies operating in the Middle East lack the understanding of the importance of safety and health

up to 59% of employees in some GCC countries are never issued with safety and health certificates

48% of all occupational injuries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occur in the construction industry

only 18% of construction companies in many parts of the region conduct regular safety and health training

More Governmental regulations:

u Difficult to implement

u Even More difficult to monitor – needs many highly qualified inspectors

u Open to abuse and corruption

u Due to the volatile socio-cultural and political nature of the region No collaboration or cohesion with regards to standards between different countries

u Standards for OSH teachers and trainers are non-existent in colleges and training centres

Private businesses

u Develop their own in-house standards and courses

u Not recognised nor transferable outside of that particular business

u The companies endorse and police themselves

u Open to abuse and corruption

u The cycle continues

Why should we try to make OSH colleagues in the MENA region aware of the ENETOSH Standards?u There is an awareness of the problem within the region

u Willingness to improve

u Stakeholders are actively looking for help and guidance

u ENETOSH is a highly respected international body specifically focused on OSH education and training

u Comprises nearly 100 highly professional institutional members from 37 different European countries

u ENETOSH is a neutral, non-political organisation neither linked nor loyal to any particular country or company in the region – we can be trusted

u The ENETOSH Standards already exist – They were developed by professionals to tackle the same issue we had in Europe soon after the formation of the EU; there is no need to reinvent the wheel and waste valuable time and resources developing their own

u They are extremely simple to access, understand and use – teachers, managers and employers can simply print them off and use them as guidelines in their selection and placement processes for OSH teachers and trainers

u Teachers and trainers can use them as guidelines to work towards as part of their professional development

CHECKLIST

Conversely – benefits to ENETOSHu Awareness and adherence to the ENETOSH Standards will ensure that in a

broader regional/geographical context we are all working from the same set of standards

u Colleagues from the MENA region can actively contribute to its development

u Their current situation regarding developments in OSH education and training will be invaluable

u Perhaps eventually develop a MENA set of standards

Where we are at:u Linked up with colleagues in OSHAfrica from the MENA region

u We have also networked and already have colleagues onboard from Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, KSA and the UAE

u These colleagues will promote awareness of the ENETOSH standards in their home countries

u We have agreed to keep in regular contact and to continue networking

u Within Saudi Arabia, Mr. Mohammad Hasan and I will be holding regular meetings and inviting Saudi colleagues

u Several of my teaching colleagues have already expressed an interest and would also like to invite their friends

u Currently getting the ENETOSH standards translated by Egyptian colleagues at the University of Suez. However, due to administrative issues I am unable to give a current status report on this at this point

Future goalsu Priority is to get the ENETOSH standards translated into Arabic

u Hopefully also Farsi and other regional languages

u Mr Hasan and I will collaborate on bi-lingual promotions such as newspaper articles and other means to raise awareness of the standards

u Hope to have the first article ready for the 28th April – World Day for Safety and Health at Work

u Continuing networking

Conclusion:

u All of us are here today because we are committed to OSH education and training

u We are fortunate to have opportunities such as this to meet similar minded colleagues and share models of best practice

u As countries such as Saudi Arabia, and others in the MENA region, open-up to the world and offer greater opportunities to their citizens, we have a professional responsibility and courtesy to offer a helping hand across the Mediterranean and assist them in their efforts to professionalise and raise standards in OSH education and training

u We would welcome any additional input or support ENETOSH colleagues would like to contribute

Thank You

uAny questions?