Geography
Within many vocational health and safety programs, both the learners and instructors maintain hectic work schedules—sometimes in remote or rural locations—creating a heavy demand for learning that is flexible, adaptive, and free of the constraints associated with the traditional classroom. Mobile phones, laptops, and highly portable devices allow learners to participate in online learning in a wherever-whenever fashion. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is one governmental organization that offers a wide variety of online courses, along with webinars and podcasts, on occupational health and safety topics.
Internet access is a key concern when living and working in remote areas, which is prompting certain companies to invest in new technological solutions. The Westmoreland Coal Company just announced that they have deployed Zebra Technologies’ WLAN network at their Wyoming Kemmerer mine, in order to improve efficiency, profitability, and safety among workers. One of the key motivations behind the company’s decision to connect to the WLAN is the desire and need for increased access to online resources for employees (Zebra Technologies, 2015).
Digital Literacy
In today’s knowledge-based economy, digital literacy is becoming an essential skill, which not only enables the development of more competent and efficient vocational workers, yet also contributes to the overall culture of health and safety in the workplace. A study conducted by Literacy Northwest in Thunder Bay, Ontario has revealed that, in order to stay competitive in their field, modern-day skilled laborers must demonstrate familiarity with digital technology (Kelly, 2015). Knowledge is power, and the ability to seamlessly navigate online learning modules and seek out high quality health and safety resources will prove invaluable to workers. According to Stewart Kallio, the principal consultant for Literacy Northwest’s study, skilled workers must not only be able to operate and navigate technological devices; they must be able to effectively use them in order to problem solve, and retrieve, organize, and share relevant information (Kelly, 2015). Employers and government agencies are able to facilitate the transition into technology-based training by recruiting subject-matter experts and instructional designers to develop high quality training content. It is crucial that they ensure the necessary technical supports are available to employees as they work their way through safety training (Yang, Catterall & Davis, 2013).
