Tip Sheets
Several
years ago the Ontario Ministry of Education suggested
that it would be a good idea to have a short tip
sheet that could be handed out to potential employers
of co-op students to give them some advice for
supervising young workers.
The request went out to Ontario's health and safety system, the idea grew, and through a collaborative process four tip sheets were created.
Tips for employers and tips for supervisors
There are tip sheets offering advice for employers of young workers and tips for supervisors, to make them aware that extra care and attention is needed when employing young workers. These would be ideal to hand out when doing an assessment of a workplace for a co-op placement. It's a way of letting potential employers know what kind of orientation and supervision you expect you students to receive.
Tips for young workers
There's also a tip sheet for young workers themselves. It points out some of the things young workers often think about before they start a job and suggests a number of things young people should be thinking about when they start a new job to protect themselves. There's also a table with the minimum ages for work in various types of workplaces.
Two new tip sheets for young and new workers
Are You Ready for Work? [PDF 140 kb]
Stay Safe When Working [PDF 50 kb]
Tips for parents
The fourth tip sheet is for parents and encourages them to ask specific questions about the jobs their children are doing. Many parents assume that someone is looking after their kids at work and, while many workplaces have a strong commitment to safety and provide excellent supervision, this is not always the case. Some teachers hand this tip sheet out at parent-teacher meetings, particularly before the summer hiring season begins.
A shared resource
These tip sheets were designed to be a shared resource to be used by various organizations concerned about the safety of young workers. Many organizations have used these tip sheets, either posting them on their websites (for example www.ocea.on.ca), inserting them in their newsletters or printing them for distribution.
Create a version with your logo and contact information
A CD is available with Microsoft Word files for all four tip sheets, along with instructions telling you how to add your logo and contact information to the second page of each tip sheet. If you would like to do this please contact us and we'll send you a CD.
Download the Ministry of Labour version
All four sheets are available on the Ontario Ministry of Labour website in both html and PDF format. The colours in all four sheets have been standardized to fit the colour scheme of the Ministry of Labour website, and photocopy well in black and white. If you can print in colour you might prefer the original versions, which have a different colour scheme for each sheet. It's the same content, just a different look.
Tips for Young Workers [PDF 131 kb]
Tips for Employers [PDF 231 kb]
Tips for Supervisors [PDF 255 kb]
Tips for Parents [PDF 217 kb]
Bright Idea!
Post the tip sheets for parents and young workers on your school or Board's website, or hand out hard copies at school council meetings.
