RECENT DEVELOPMENTS in legislation, global trade and rapidly changing technology, have placed new expectations and demands of occupational and environmental safety and health Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health (OESH) on governments, environmental management, business enterprises, educational institutions, trade unions, workers and the public.
Within this scenario, there is urgent and growing need for the development of a cadre of professionals with competencies in OESH. In addition, there is a requirement for all employers, managers, supervisors, policy makers and public leaders to have a functional awareness of the key issues related to environmental and occupational safety and health. A new set of OESH programmes (developed with support from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica and drawing on broad expertise from the labour movement, industry, governmental ministries of Labour and Health, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and Jamaica Employer's Federation (JEF), will be offered at the general interest, Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. to address these requirements.
The aim of these programmes would be to prepare persons to function in key enforcement, research, consultancy, entrepreneurship, teaching, training, organisational systems and practice, and policy and standards development.
The Bachelors programme will focus on preparing a core of generalists who would be competent to develop, implement and manage basic OESH field challenges, assist in the provision of consultancy services and to train support staff. The Masters Programme would prepare persons to develop, design, implement and manage complex OESH programmes and systems, provide consultancy services and to educate others. The Doctoral Programme would prepare persons to provide high level leadership in OESH research and policy design, implementation, analysis and evaluation. If this programme succeeds the hazards such as those shown here will be a thing of the past in Jamaica.
Information on the programmes is available from Prof. Ishenkumba Kahwa at: 512-3020, 512-3021 or 512-3100. E-mail: ishenkumba.kahwa@
uwimona.edu.jm.
