Training and Safety Awareness Courses
AgSafe provides free, on-site Safety Education Sessions for all agricultural workplaces in British Columbia.
All courses are offered in English.
Several courses are available with translated presentation material.
*Languages offered are specified below.
If you require any of our courses in a language other then English, our Consultants and Advisors are well versed in working with translators to present our courses.
Note: AgSafe does not provide translators.
Request a Safety Education session at Your Workplace.
E-Learning Courses Available Through AgSafe
A Safety Awareness program designed to familiarize workers and managers with general safety practices for ATV/UTV’s on the farm. This class covers the general characteristics of ATV/UTV’s, required protective clothing and gear and operating tips. Also covered, the importance of pre- and post-ride inspections as well as the potential legal requirements that may affect your operators.
Note: this is not a ‘licence’ or ‘certification’ course. AgSafe does not provide hands-on or any operating instruction for onsite equipment, and employers must train and then verify the competency of their operators.
Your AgSafe Consultant can provide resources for general competency evaluation that can be modified for your site specific and equipment needs
A Safety Awareness program to familiarize workers with chainsaws. The program covers safe use techniques, WorkSafeBC regulations specific to chainsaw use on farms, required personal protective equipment and other factors.
Note: AgSafe does not provide hands-on training and this education session is not a faller course or certification course. Employers are required to evaluate and determine worker competency prior to allowing chainsaw use. Your AgSafe Consultant can provide resources for competency evaluation.
Wondering how to meet your legal obligations towards Occupational Health & Safety?
Our Due Diligence class covers legislative requirements & responsibilities of workers, supervisors and employers. Best practice standards are reviewed along with how bill C-45 and parts of the Workers Compensation Act affect you. Most importantly, strategies to manage these obligations.
- Emergency Preparedness – Module 1: Risk vs. Hazard
- The first of three Emergency Preparedness modules, this session looks at the difference between Risk and Hazard. Why understanding the difference is important, and how to identify Hazards and measure Risk. This will be applied specifically to the Hazard of wild fire and the Risk to your farm or ranch.
- Emergency Preparedness – Module 2: Community Planning
- The second of three Emergency Preparedness modules. Building a community plan with your neighbours, local businesses, workers and emergency responders. Many emergency scenarios including natural disasters and man made or created disasters will be presented. Planning with your community can help mitigate the outcome of any disaster. This session provides the tools for your community group to build a plan together.
- Emergency Preparedness – Module 3: Mapping and Responder Information Tubes
- The final module focuses on communicating information to emergency responders. Mapping your property with information for first responders saves time and lives. What to put on the map, how to prepare it, how to store it & how to share it are all covered in this session.
Please contact the office for more information.
Please contact the office for more information.
A Safety Awareness program designed to familiarize forklift operators and managers on general forklift safety practices. This class covers the general characteristics and components of lift trucks, required protective clothing & gear and operating tips. Also covered, the importance of pre-shift inspections as well as the potential legal requirements that may affect your operators.
Note: this is not a ‘licence’ or ‘certification’ course. AgSafe does not provide hands-on or any operating instruction for onsite equipment, and employers must train and then verify the competency of their operators.
Your AgSafe Consultant can provide resources for general competency evaluation that can be modified for your site specific and equipment needs.
Program offered in Spanish and Punjabi
Hantavirus is a viral disease that is found throughout Canada, and the United States. It is carried by deer mice, a dominate species among rodents, and is typically found in rural and semi-rural areas. This course covers what Hantavirus is, what causes it, and how to deal with it.
Employer’s in BC are required comply with the regulatory requirements regarding hazard recognition. This course will cover the rights and responsibilities of parties involved, and help them understand how to manage, reduce, control and/or eliminate hazards.
Noise control and hearing conservation programs are required in many workplaces. Learn about what noise exposure does to the human body and how to reduce or limit total noise exposure for workers. Understand the legal requirements for noise exposure and a noise control program.
All industries have work related accidents or incidents. The main purpose of an incident investigation is to prevent a similar incident from happening again. This is done by finding all the underlying reasons leading to the incident. In this course, you will cover both the WorkSafeBC requirements and how to perform an investigation.
Note: Completion of the three starred courses satisfies the WorkSafeBC regulation for new Joint Committee Member 8-hour training. The 3 courses are: Joint Health & Safety Committee, Incident Reporting & Investigation, and Workplace Inspections.
A Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee is required at any workplace that has 20 or more workers. (If a workplace has between 9 and 19 workers, you need to have a worker health and safety representative.) This course covers the WorkSafeBC legal requirements, duties and functions of a Joint Health and Safety Committee.
Note: Completion of the three starred courses satisfies the WorkSafeBC regulation for new Joint Committee Member 8-hour training. The 3 courses are: Joint Health & Safety Committee, Incident Reporting & Investigation, and Workplace Inspections.
Using the right ladder for the job, the right way is crucial to staying safe while climbing. This course covers the different types of ladders commonly used in agriculture, the risks associated with each type of ladder, and how to minimize those risks.
What is Lockout? When do you need it? Why is it important? What are the steps? This agriculture specific session reviews when and where lockout is required. Various forms of energy found in agriculture are identified and the specific steps to a basic lockout procedure are covered. *Note – employer or qualified supervisor still must perform competency evaluation. Resources available on our website.
Available online in English for agriculture workers. Click here to register.
This course covers safe cattle handling practices. It will help workers realize their ability to affect the outcome of potentially hazardous situations using safe handling procedures and techniques. Topics include animal science research, cattle behaviour, moving cattle, livestock facilities and more.
Lyme disease is an illness caused by Bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) found in infected ticks. This course will provide an overview of what Lyme Disease is, and the species of Ticks found in BC.
Approximately 75% of pesticide usage occurs in Agriculture. Pesticides have the potential for causing harm, and agricultural workers are at greater risk of exposure than non-agriculture workers. This course will cover the legislation involved with pesticide use, hazards, and using pesticides safely.
This is a safety awareness course and is NOT a Pesticide Applicators course.
Program offered in Spanish
Employers, workers, and supervisors all have legal duties specific to addressing workplace bullying and harassment. We’ll review legal obligations, reporting procedures, investigation requirements and more.
Having an injury management program in your workplace will have a positive impact not only on your bottom line but it also demonstrates to your workforce that you are invested in their recovery and well being.
AgSafe provides a variety of resources to help build an effective, workplace specific Return to Work program.
Fill out the Request Training form, for more information.
Risk Assessments are made up of 4 components: Hazard identification, risk assessment, control measures and Monitoring and reviewing. This course covers each of the individual components and focuses on how they are relevant in an agricultural workplace.
There are many risks involved in agriculture. This session reviews the most common risks associated with working agriculture and how to manage those risks on your worksite(s). You’ll review, due diligence, barriers to a safety culture, the concepts of risk management and methods to assess risk.
Be prepared by pre-planning. This course is geared towards rural farms and ranches that are in locations served by a rural fire department, or unprotected areas with no local fire department.
In medical terms, stress is your body’s reaction to any change you perceive as a challenge or a threat. This course discusses the different types of stress, possible causes of stress in rural areas, and the effects it can have on you. You will also go over tools for stress prevention, managing stress, and how and when to seek help.
A Safety Awareness program designed to familiarize workers and managers on the safe use of Skidsteer equipment on the farm. This class covers the general characteristics and components of skid steers, required protective clothing & gear and operating tips. Also covered, the importance of pre-shift inspections as well as potential legal requirements that may affect your operators.
Note: this is not a ‘licence’ or ‘certification’ course. AgSafe does not provide hands-on or any operating instruction for onsite equipment, and employers must train and then verify the competency of their operators.
Your AgSafe Consultant can provide resources for general competency evaluation that can be modified for your site specific and equipment needs.
Program offered in Spanish.
This course covers safe handling practices for working cowboys and ranchers who use horses. It will help workers realize their ability to affect the outcome of potentially hazardous situations using safe horse handling procedures and techniques. This is a risk management course for horse handlers, and not a horse training course.
Designed to help supervisors understand their role and the responsibilities that accompany that role. This course is designed to provide tools and guidance as you develop your role as a supervisor. Understanding and proving due diligence, qualities of an effective supervisor and effective communication skills specific to workplace safety are all covered.
A Safety Awareness program designed to familiarize workers and managers on general tractor safety practices. This class covers the general characteristics, components and significant hazards of tractors. Also covered, the importance of pre-shift inspections as well as potential legal requirements that may affect your operators.
Note: this is not a ‘licence’ or ‘certification’ course. AgSafe does not provide hands-on or any operating instruction for onsite equipment, and employers must train and then verify the competency of their operators.
Your AgSafe Consultant can provide resources for general competency evaluation that can be modified for your site specific and equipment needs.
Program offered in Spanish and Punjabi.
This training familiarizes workers with the “WHMIS 2015” system and how it’s used in workplaces. Topics include an overview of WHMIS, hazards groups and hazard classes, labels, and safety data sheets (SDS’s). Upon completion, workers will be able to understand labels, recognize pictograms and the hazards they represent, identify hazards of various hazard classes and how to find additional information about hazards and protective measures on SDSs. Successful completion of a written quiz is required for this program.
Available online in English for agriculture workers. Click here to register.
Program offered in Spanish.
A workplace inspection is a planned and systematic walk-through of a workplace to examine all factors that have the potential to cause injury or illness. Also, to identify where action is required to remedy and control hazards. In this course you will cover why workplace inspections are preformed, and how to preform them to industry and WorkSafeBC standards.
Note: Completion of the three starred courses satisfies the WorkSafeBC regulation for new Joint Committee Member 8-hour training. The 3 courses are: Joint Health & Safety Committee, Incident Reporting & Investigation, and Workplace Inspections.
The course goes over the difference between WorkSafeBC Insurance and Personal Optional Protection. You will also discuss who qualifies for which type of insurance and will review the legal definitions of worker and employer. Personal Optional Protection will be reviewed, who qualifies, cost & how to apply.
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) requires employers to give a health and safety orientation, including several specific topics, to each new worker before they begin work in a workplace. This session informs workers about the company’s health and safety policies, procedures and practices. It will also assist workers in learning the safe performance of their duties.