IOSH has updated three of its products -- Leading Safely, Managing Safely and Working Safely -- to increase their adaptability to different countries and cultures.
The amendments come after feedback from customer surveys, which highlighted the need for content to be more applicable to non-UK audiences. Changes have included the introduction of statistics and laws from various countries.
With more than 2,000 members working in the Middle East, IOSH has chosen its sixth UAE Annual Networking Conference in Abu Dhabi to showcase the products ahead of their launch early in 2017.
Dina Alkhalidi, Head of Customer Engagement at IOSH, said: "Over the past 12 months, we've been working hard to understand the needs of the market. Our courses run in 74 different countries and it's very clear that we've a wide audience base across the world. We wanted to be responsive to their needs and have built into the courses the flexibility for trainers to add in country-specific content."
To coincide with the showcase, on Thursday 8 December, the Institution has published the findings of a survey, which has revealed that business leaders across the Middle East are identifying worker protection against injury and ill health as vital to safeguarding their businesses' reputation and resilience and improving productivity.
Bas Halin, Technical Director for JC Decaux in the Middle East, has put 30 of his managers and supervisors through IOSH's Managing Safely course.
He said: "It gives them a higher level of understanding of their roles and responsibilities and provides the tools to manage safety and health better. It's great to run courses that come from an organisation and voice of authority such as IOSH, which is recognised the world over. IOSH is helping us drive a cultural change throughout our business that means we all take responsibility for working safely. I've already seen it in action on my site visits."
The survey, commissioned by IOSH, asked 250 decision-makers within the Gulf Corporation Council how much value they place on health and safety in the workplace. It questioned senior managers in nine industries: construction, oil and gas, education, sport, healthcare, finance, transport, technology and hospitality. The managers were based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Of them, 91 per cent agreed that investing in the health and safety of their workforce is essential to ensuring their business has a good reputation, is resilient and is productive, with 36 per cent strongly agreeing.
Eighty-five per cent agreed that their employees' health and safety is a top priority at board level, with 36 per cent strongly agreeing. And 88 per cent agreed that all employees have a responsibility for health and safety, with 50 per cent strongly agreeing.
Ahmed El Hadidi, Chair of IOSH's UAE Branch, said: "When people go to work, they should do so in the knowledge they will return home without their safety or health being put at risk. With that in mind, it is very encouraging that this IOSH survey has shown the majority of organisations view health and safety as an important business function.
"It is also good to see they recognise health and safety as everyone's responsibility. Employees play a vital role. If they see something which is unsafe, they have a responsibility to rectify it, provided it is safe to do so, and they are knowledgeable and competent enough to make that decision. Otherwise, they should report it."
The IOSH UAE Branch is hosting the Networking Conference at the Al Raha Beach Hotel in Abu Dhabi between 8.30am and 4.30pm. As well as the training products showcase, it will also see the Ministry of Education, the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health Center and Dubai Municipality provide updates on their work.
For more information on the training products visit www.iosh.co.uk/training
