Putting health and safety education on the school curriculum could help keep future generations safe in the workplace, according to Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen.
Mr Killeen made the comments at an awards ceremony in Ennis, Co Clare, yesterday for second-level students who participated in a pilot safety programme run by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). "There is sometimes a cavalier attitude to safety in the workplace," said Mr Killeen. "People think it will never happen to them."
He said that the chances of health and safety education being introduced would be greater if support for it came from within the education system.
Fifteen post-primary schools in Clare, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon took part in the pilot. Twenty-five teachers taught the module to 350 students from Transition year, Leaving Certificate and the Applied Leaving Certificate over three days.
Students were taught to be aware of dangers in the workplace while learning how to manage safety.
Over half of the students who took part are now working. Twenty-eight per cent of students work in the hospitality sector and 33 per cent are working part-time, or have worked part-time, in the construction sector.
Joanne Harmon, Education and Strategy Manager for the HSA, said they have asked the National Council for Curriculum Assessment to examine the possibility of introducing risk education into schools.
Ms Harmon said the HSA aims to bring safety education into mainstream education. "There is a demand for it and there is a need for it," said Ms Harmon.