Skilled Trade Research, Innovation and Education in Occupational Safety and Health (STRIVE OSH)
Skilled Trade Research, Innovation and Education in Occupational Safety and Health (STRIVE OSH)
Built capacity in current and next‑gen skilled trades through applied research, tool/guideline development, and technology transfer directly addressing workforce challenges and strengthening subject matter expert competitiveness.
Funding: Funded by Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development.
What did this Project Set Out to Do?
Occupational health and safety (OHS) training is a foundational part of skilled trades education, but until recently, little was known about how well that training aligns with the real risks trades workers face on the job. The Canadian Institute for Safety, Wellness, & Performance (CISWP) launched this project to take a clearer, evidence-based look at how safety is taught across skilled trades programs, how instructors and apprentices experience that training, and how well training content reflects actual injury patterns in the workplace.
Rather than focusing on a single trade or classroom, this project examined the entire training ecosystem: from what’s written in official curriculum documents, to what instructors emphasize in class, to what apprentices encounter in real work environments. The result is one of the most comprehensive examinations of skilled trades OHS education conducted in Canada to date.
How was the Research Done?
This project brought together multiple data sources to paint a complete and practical picture of safety training in the skilled trades.
1. Curriculum-to-Injury Crosswalk Analysis
The research team systematically compared official OHS curricular guidance documents with real-world injury statistics drawn from approved workers’ compensation claims. This “crosswalk” approach made it possible to identify where training content and injury patterns line up, and where they don’t, covering all 144 Ontario-recognized skilled trades programs.
2. Apprentice Voices (~1,500 Surveys)
To ground the data in lived experience, CISWP surveyed almost 1,500 skilled trades apprentices. Apprentices shared how safety is taught, what sticks, what feels like it is missing, and how prepared they feel to manage risks in real workplaces. Their input highlighted differences between what’s taught formally and what’s encountered on job sites.
3. Instructor Insights
Skilled trades instructors were interviewed to better understand how OHS content is delivered, adapted, and emphasized in classrooms and shops. These conversations revealed the constraints instructors work under, the tools they rely on, and the professional judgments they make every day to keep learners safe.
What did the Project Discover?
One of the most important outcomes of the project was mapping the structure of the OHS training system itself. Safety training doesn’t happen in isolation—it’s shaped by interactions across multiple levels:
Micro level: Apprentices, instructors, and the day-to-day delivery of safety content
Meso level: Curriculum guidance, training resources, equipment, and teaching tools
Macro level: Regulations, industry expectations, workplace cultures, and broader social norms in the trades
Why Does This Matter & Key Applications
For instructors, this project validates what many already know: effective safety training requires more than checking curriculum boxes. It depends on judgment, context, and responsiveness to real workplace risks.
The findings support stronger alignment between:
- What instructors see happening on job sites
- What apprentices experience during training
- What official curricula prioritize
For apprentices and trades workers, the project highlights the importance of safety training that reflects modern work realities, both physically and mentally. It reinforces that topics like ergonomics, fatigue, and mental wellness are not “add-ons,” but essential skills for long, healthy careers in the trades.
Across trades and sectors, the project consistently identified gaps in training related to:
- Mental health and psychological safety
- Ergonomics and musculoskeletal risk
- Housekeeping and cleanliness as safety practices
These topics appeared frequently in injury data but were often inconsistently reflected or underdeveloped in formal training materials. Instructors and apprentices both noted that these areas tend to be learned informally or reactively, rather than through structured education.
