Protecting the Future – Establishing a Health and Safety Mindset in Young Workers
Every employer, teacher, parent, and community organization that welcomes young people into the workplace shares the same hope: that these young workers thrive. Yet a different reality is clear—young workers face a much greater risk of injury than their more experienced counterparts.
In 2024 alone, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board accepted 2,689 injury claims from workers under 25, representing 15% of all workplace injury claims. These numbers underscore an urgent need for action!
Why Young Workers Are at Higher Risk
Any worker can be injured on the job, but young workers face unique vulnerabilities. Their risk is often tied to a lack of experience, unfamiliarity with workplace hazards, and uncertainty about their rights and responsibilities. Many youth don’t know how to speak up or feel uncomfortable asking questions in challenging or unsafe situations.
** Up to 70% of young workers gain their first job experience in community service or hospitality settings – many will stay in these industries through post-secondary education and beyond.
Service Hospitality recognizes early intervention essential—and position our members, educators, parents, and community organizations as key influencers in shaping confident future workers with a mindset of safety first.
Service Hospitality Can Support You in Building a Safety Mindset?
Service Hospitality’s Roadmap to a Health and Safety Mindset is the backbone of programming designed to prepare young workers to build fundamental safety awareness in 3 easy steps:
- Step One – Access our safety presentations aligned with the Saskatchewan school curriculum and reduce the alarming number of injuries by educating young people about hazard recognition early on. Our On-Demand Classroom Presentations are available to classrooms across the province, helping you to educate students about safety before they start working.
- Step Two – Psychological health and safety empowers young people to advocate not only for their physical well-being but also for respectful and mentally supportive workplaces. Our one-hour online course Your Mental Health and Well-Being or self-paced program Step Up Your Safety are designed to build mental health coping skills and psychological resilience. Confidence grows when youth know their voice matters—and when mentors reinforce that message.
- Step Three –The Young Worker Readiness Certificate is required for 14- and 15-year-olds to complete before starting work in Saskatchewan. If you are hiring, training or supervising these youth, ensure they are trained.
** If you’re not sure what legislation you are accountable for, or how to build and foster a safety culture, take our Leadership & Safety: What Senior Leaders Must Know.
Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders
Whether you oversee staff, manage volunteers, supervise students, or coordinate youth programs, your engagement directly impacts the safety of Saskatchewan’s future workforce.
The young people entering your workplace or organization today are the future leaders of Saskatchewan. When they are encouraged, supported, and equipped with a health and safety mindset early on, they carry those values forward—into future jobs, future teams, and eventually, the workplaces they will one day lead.
Take our Qualifications, Orientation & Training, because a thoughtful orientation and training program does more than teach procedures. It creates a culture where young workers feel valued, informed, and safe, and establishes expectations for respectful communication and teamwork throughout your organization, because safety is everyone’s responsibility!
Your commitment to training and orientation today will help ensure those future workplaces are safer and more prosperous for everyone.
