Department of Labor announces FSCJ as recipient of Susan Harwood Capacity Building Training Grant

This grant program is an essential component of OSHA’s efforts to provide workers in high-risk industries with job hazard training and information on their rights. Since 1978, approximately 2 million workers have been trained through this program.

“The Susan Harwood Training Program provides thousands of workers and employers with hands-on, critical health and safety training to reduce occupational injuries,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “The federal grants awarded will provide workers and employers in some of the most dangerous industries with important tools to identify and eliminate hazards.” 

The training grant program is named in honor of Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA’s former Directorate of Health Standards, who passed away in 1996.

The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) houses the Susan Harwood grant. This grant has enabled IOSH staff and instructors to impact our local community by providing free safety training seminars to more than 2,200 workers in the past three years. The staff will use the newly awarded grant to train an additional 1,000 workers throughout Northeast Florida through 2015.

Senator Bill Nelson recently sent our College a letter of congratulations for the award and stated, “Our dedication of improving the safety and health of Floridians is appreciated and laudable.”

The grant gives FSCJ the ability to support OSHA’s initiative to protect temporary workers due to the increase of injuries and deaths on work sites.  If you are interested in the free Susan Harwood Safety Seminars starting in January 2015 contact the project coordinator, Stacey McCann at (904) 633-5939 or email smccann@fscj.edu.