Does Skill Training Enhance Occupational Safety and Health at Construction Sites? – A Case study

Introduction
In India, construction industry is the second largest employment provider. Efforts are on to transform construction work to be more mechanized and skill based. A large number of work-force still continue traditional system of on-the-job learning. Many of them are exposed to various occupational risks, in-built in the nature of the construction work. Lately, there have been initiatives to develop the skill level of workmen through structured skill based training, to improve quality, productivity and safety. This paper is aimed to study the impact of such training on occupational safety and health of the workers involved.

Methods
The study has been conducted on 500 construction workers who have completed formal training in construction related skill programme at the National Academy of Construction, Hyderabad, or in any other professional training institute and presently in employment for over one year. A validated questionnaire was used to find the pattern of work assignments as well as work-related injuries, ill-health including high potential first-aid cases, during the course of their employment.

Results
From the analysis of the study it was found that though the worker in general is at high risk, the pattern of occupational risks is widely different for the construction worker who have undergone formal skill training with respect to the other workers who did not have any formal training. The pattern of injury suggests that skill people were well equipped to face the challenges at workplace due to skill and knowledge of the job. They also fared well in term of occupational health and wellbeing.

Discussion
Skill training has a long lasting impact on the way the work is organized at project sites as well as the methods adopted. This explores various advantages,generated with the skill improvement initiatives by organizations and emphasizes the need to multifold the efforts