USF partners with Seminole Ridge High to offer OSHA certification
Students at Seminole Ridge High School’s Weitz Academy of Construction will soon be able to earn safety training certificates from the University of South Florida OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center, thanks to a new partnership between the schools.
While Academy of Construction students have for the past decade received OSHA’s 10-hour and 30-hour training, this new partnership with USF’s OTI Education Center will give students more access to advanced coursework in construction safety and some of the highest certifications available through OSHA. USF’s OTI Education Center is authorized by OSHA to deliver occupational safety and health training to public and private sector works, supervisors and employers.
Instructors from the USF OTI Education Center will donate more than 70 hours of training time to work with Construction Academy students, who will earn a certificate from the center once they’ve successfully completed the program.
Patricia Damas from USF’s OSHA Training Institute Education Center instructing Weitz Academy of Construction students on the proper way to use and wear a safety harness.
“The OSHA curriculum benefits my students in numerous ways,” said Rick Terkovich, a certified OSHA instructor who teaches at the Weitz Academy of Construction. “This program teaches teenagers how to work safely. In the 10 years that we have been teaching this program, I have had many employers tell me that one of the reasons they hire my kids is because they have OSHA training.”
The USF OTI Education Center selected Seminole Ridge and its Weitz Academy of Construction for this new partnership because of the school’s commitment to training its students in how to work safely in construction.
“It is a known fact that young workers are especially at risk of becoming injured while on the job, primarily due to lack of training and knowledge,” said Keila Ashman, assistant director of USF’s OTI Education Center. “Safety begins with our youth. The USF OTI Education Center recognizes the importance of keeping youth safe by providing them with the resources, skills, knowledge and education necessary to avoid workplace hazards, while also preparing them for the workforce. We are looking forward to this exciting partnership.”
The College of Public Health is the academic home for USF’s OTI Education Center. Read the full story from the School District of Palm Beach County.