A five day sub-regional training on foundation skills for OSH and Labour Inspectors for six Pacific countries concluded on Friday 25th November 2016 in Auckland New Zealand.

The training was organized by the ILO Pacific Office in collaboration with WorkSafe New Zealand and the ILO International Training Center (ITC). Mr Brett Murray, General Manager – Operations and Support from WorkSafe New Zealand opened the training. “We are very delighted to support our pacific neighbours and this collaboration with the ILO is a very strategic step towards making the islands more safer for workers and employers”, said Mr Murray.

WorkSafe New Zealand supported the training through the provision of a technical trainer and specialist, Mr Rod Dickson, specializing in hazardous substances. Mr Dickson also supported the ILO organized OSH national training in Samoa in 2015. The ITC is exploring the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to leverage education and training by using technology and bringing in real-world simulations. OSH is a priority area for ITC Turin to pilot VR and therefore developed an introductory session for the participants http://virtualreality.itcilo.org/.

The objective of the training was to provide basic concepts, principles and skills to participants to manage and implement OSH and labour standards requirements under ILO Conventions and National Legislations. The training was divide into 5 parts: Part 1: Defining Labour Inspection, Part 2: Principles of Inspection, Part 3: Practical Inspection, Part 4: Inspection reporting and Part 5: Developing the Inspectorate practice. Delivered by ILO Consultant, Ms Antoinette Baker, is a lawyer and former senior Department of Labour Inspector, she conducted a training needs analysis (TNA) with target countries and adopted learnings from previous ILO national trainings she delivered in Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

“We have a very recent OSH legislation and this training provided us with the practical skills to implement the legislation. This I think is the most important take-back I and my Kiribati colleagues value from this training”, said Ms Reea Binataake Aluta, OSH Inspector for Kiribati.

The training include a practical site visit to a major building re-development project undertaken by one of New Zealand's largest construction firms, Naylor Love Ltd. Participants were exposed to various safety and health issues relating to the construction industry. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was identified by participants as a major learning as it was a challenge back in their respective islands.

Another added value in the training was the introduction session to Virtual Reality (VR) by the ITC. Linking up through skype and running the 3 part 2 hr session off a pre-prepared on-line platform, the session explored the potential of VR to support OSH inspection and investigation. “VR certainly brings in the advantage of real-life scenarios which our inspectorate can learn and understand the challenges prior to going into the site. A very useful tool for inspecting off land/hard to access sites, such as ships or sites with hazardous substances”, said Ms Sandrina Thondoo, the Director Labour for the Cook Islands.

The fifth day saw participants consolidate and finalise their OSH work plans for 2017, which will inform the ILO programming plans and collaboration between ILO and WorkSafe New Zealand for follow up activities.

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