Requirements for joint health and safety committee (JHSC) training are changing. But WHSC commitment to providing the highest quality JHSC training possible remains constant. 

On July 1, an updated standard for JHSC Certification training is coming into force. To meet this new standard, the Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) Certification program has been updated, submitted and once again approved by the Prevention Office of Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

In tandem with this renewed approval, WHSC is offering scheduled in-person JHSC Certification training for the remainder of the year at half price if training is booked and paid for by August 31^st. 

Register for JHSC Certification training and save 50%.

Providing trusted JHSC training for 40 years

Changes to the program standard include curriculum with a stronger focus on workplace violence and harassment, occupational illness prevention, and overall committee effectiveness. As a trusted training provider to JHSCs for 40 years these critical issues have long been embedded in our programs. 
 
WHSC first developed and delivered training for JHSC effectiveness in 1986. By 1990 requirements for JHSC Certification training were enshrined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Then, as Ontario’s health and safety training centre, WHSC helped lead the drive to develop the original JHSC Certification training standard. And when called upon some 25 years later, WHSC co-chaired a system committee to renew and strengthen a Certification training standard that had been allowed to deteriorate over the years. 

“Today, we continue as a leading provider of training designed to ensure employers meet the legal duty to train JHSCs,” says Andrew Mudge, WHSC Executive Director. “But more important, in the doing, we equip workers and their representatives with the necessary knowledge and skills to help support their considerable powers to participate in creation of safer, healthier work. We train their management counterparts too, because we know everyone in the workplace has a stake in safer, healthier work, as everyone in the workplace and beyond benefits," Mudge adds.

What hasn’t changed

In Ontario, most workplaces with 20 or more workers—or those using designated substances—must establish a joint health and safety committee (JHSC). At least two members, one worker and one manager, must become and remain certified by completing:
 

• Certification Part I – addressing occupational health and safety law and hazard identification.
• Certification Part II – focusing on sector- or workplace-specific hazards and controls.
• Certification Refresher – required every three years to maintain certification. 

Ontario’s training regulation (O. Reg 297/13) also clarifies the employer must pay for this training.
 
Under OHSA powers and functions of JHSC members who represent workers include: 

• Monthly inspections of the physical workplace 
• Investigations of workplace fatalities and critical incidents
• Attendance at the beginning of occupational hygiene testing to validate testing procedures
• Attendance at the investigation of worker refusals of unsafe work. 

All JHSC members also have a range of powers under OHSA ranging from making recommendations for improvement of the health and safety of workers and the establishment, maintenance and monitoring of programs, measures and procedures respecting the health or safety of workers to consultation on health and safety matters such as WHMIS training. 
 
With this in mind, where committees are larger than two members, many employers elect to train all JHSC members to expand their in-house capacity to meet extensive health and safety requirements. Further still, some employers in smaller workplaces elect to train health and safety representatives (HSRs) who have similar powers and functions in pursuit of safer, healthier work.

Secure your spot. Register for half price Certification training by August 31!

Please note: French-language JHSC Certification Training is also available at 50 per cent off through scheduled in-person classes, and additional training sessions can be arranged upon request. If you have any questions about training in French, please contact WHSC training services representative, Christopher Gervais at cgervais@whsc.on.ca or 613-407-2187.
 
For those already certified, despite changes to the standard, your training remains valid until it is time to renew your training, up to three years from when you completed Certification Part II training or your last Certification Refresher course. 

Need more training? Get 50 per cent off other programs too.

This limited-time 50 per cent off pricing is also available for many other eligible, in-person training programs scheduled in training facilities across the province. This includes Supervisor Health and Safety Training, Heat and Cold Stress, Roadway Work, Working at Heights, and Working at Heights Refresher to name a few.    

Secure your spot for half price OHS training. Register by August 31!

Also keep in mind WHSC is the first and only health and safety association in Ontario to design and implement a secure digital Record of Training system. This innovative system simplifies the way official training records are accessed, verified, and shared, thereby reducing administrative burden and strengthening workplace health and safety.

Learn more about JHSC Certification Training

Need more information? 
Contact a WHSC Training Services Representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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