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Free asbestos training available to help get unemployed people work ready

Train Safe, Work Safe, Keep Safe Campaign 2018

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Unemployed people are being given the opportunity to gain free asbestos training in order to get work ready as part of the UK-wide 2018 Train Safe, Work Safe, Keep Safe Campaign.

As part of the campaign, the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) has partnered with Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, to offer free asbestos awareness training to people who are currently out of work.

UKATA member companies have pledged hundreds of free training hours to people who are unemployed, Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETS) or are career changers in their journey to securing a job.

The certified training is available now until March 2019 with UKATA-approved providers throughout the UK.

Craig Evans, Chief Operating Officer of UKATA, explained: “UKATA has spent 10 years committed to raising the standards of training. By partnering with Jobcentre Plus during our 2018 Train Safe Campaign we hope to be able to reach even more people and put them on the path to a new career.”

Since its launch in 2015, UKATA’s annual Train Safe, Work Safe, Keep Safe campaign has offered more than 15,000 hours of free asbestos awareness training to individuals throughout the UK.

Having the relevant asbestos awareness training, could open up career opportunities within the construction industry and also building and facilities management.

The campaign is part of UKATA’s drive to ensure more people are asbestos aware, particularly in the public sector due to the number of ageing schools and hospitals that contain asbestos.

Despite the deadly building material being banned in the UK in 1999, more than 1.3 million people in the UK still come into occupational contact with asbestos and it is responsible for more than 5,000 deaths every year.

With many buildings that were constructed or refurbished before the year 2000, particularly between the 1950s and 1980s, containing asbestos, there is an increasing need for people to be aware of the dangers of this cancer-causing material.

Craig Evans added: “Understanding the risk of asbestos and where it could potentially be in a building is a very desirable skill to have on your CV and could open the door to employment in a number of sectors.”

When undisturbed asbestos is virtually harmless, however improper handling of asbestos-containing materials can prove fatal. In fact, asbestos is the single biggest cause of work-related deaths. When disturbed, asbestos releases fibre dust particulates into the air which when inhaled, they can lead to debilitating asbestosis disease or fatal mesothelioma cancer of the lung linings.

It was the asbestos ticking time bomb that led to UKATA being established in 2008. Now a leading authority for asbestos training provision in the UK, UKATA set the standards in asbestos training and ensure that they are maintained by the growing numbers of UKATA-approved training providers.

For details of UKATA-approved training provider near you taking part in this year’s Train Safe, Work Safe, Keep Safe campaign visit www.ukata.org.uk/train-safe-campaign or call 01246 824 437.

Media Enquiries:
Victoria Castelluccio, Marketing Officer
victoria.castelluccio@ukata.org.uk
01246 824437

Published on Monday 15th October 2018

Posted in Press Releases News