Improving occupational safety and health in small and medium-sized enterprises – Training module

Companies with the highest occupational safety and health (OSH) standards and a healthy, safe and motivated workforce are also the most successful and competitive; prevention has shown to be cost-effective.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are important contributors to national economies worldwide. However, they tend to have higher rates of occupational accidents and diseases, owing primarily to human and financial resource deficits, lack of awareness on OSH matters and difficulties in access to external support and training. In addition to the serious ethical concerns raised by human suffering, the impact of occupational accidents and diseases affects productivity and economic growth.

The ILO’s Labour Administration, Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch (LABADMIN/OSH), the Vision Zero Fund (VZF), and the Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme developed a training module that introduces SME workers, employers and managers to the main OSH principles, concepts, processes and tools in order to establish a safety and health culture with a view to continuous improvement at their enterprises.

The training module is comprised of a Participants’ handbook, a Trainers guide, and a presentation (with notes for the trainer). It is available in English, Spanish and French.


The Trainers' guide is available for download here.
The Participants handbook is available for download here.
The presentation OSH in SMEs can be downloaded here.