December 23, 2002—The US Department of Labor recently announced the selection of 20 Training Institute Education Centers, almost doubling the number of centers that currently offer training courses on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and occupational safety and health issues. The new program has been expanded from the previous 12 up to 20 centers.
“These education centers were selected because they can best support our national training and education mission,” said US Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “More than 14,500 students were trained at education centers in 2002 alone. We expect the number of students trained by these centers to double over the next two years and to continue to increase substantially each year after that. The additional centers will help us meet an increasing demand for OSHA training and provide added value to our outreach efforts in a variety of areas, including ergonomics, Spanish language courses, and youth initiatives.”
The 20 centers will complement the OSHA Training Institute, the agency’s primary training center in Illinois. The centers are primarily responsible for training private sector personnel and federal personnel from agencies outside OSHA.
The centers were selected through a national competition. Evaluation criteria included occupational safety and health experience, non-academic training background, classroom and laboratory availability, and the ability to provide training throughout the region. OSHA provides no funding to the education centers. They support their OSHA training through their normal tuition and fee structures.
The educational centers will also assist the agency in administering the OSHA Outreach Training Program– the agency’s primary way to train workers in the basics of occupational safety and health. Through the program, individuals who complete a one-week OSHA trainer course are authorized to teach 10-hour or 30-hour courses in construction or general industry safety and health standards. These individuals go on to train thousands more students each year. In FY 2002, 254,000 people received training from the train-the-trainer program.
The OSHA Training Institute Education Centers are:
Note: (*) Indicates current OTI Education Center, which was reselected.
Region I
*Keene State College, Keene, NH
Region II
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
A consortium comprised of the following:
- University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ (lead organization)
- State University of New York at Buffalo, Toxicology Research Center, Buffalo, NY
- Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, PR
- The New York City District Council of Carpenters, Labor Technical College, New York, NY
Region III
*National Resource Center, Washington, DC, a consortium comprised of the following:
- The George Meany Center for Labor Studies, Silver Spring, Md. (lead organization)
- Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC
- Center to Protect Workers’ Rights, Washington, DC
- West Virginia University Safety and Health Extension, Morgantown, WV
A consortium comprised of the following:
- Training Division of the University City Science Center, Philadelphia, PA (lead organization)
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
Region IV
*Georgia Technical Research Institute, Atlanta, GA
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
Region V
*Great Lakes OSHA Training Consortium, a consortium comprised of the following:
- University of Cincinnati Continuing Medical Education, Cincinnati, OH(lead organization)
- Eastern Michigan University Center for Organization Risk Reduction, Ypsilanti, MI
- United Auto Workers Health & Safety Department, Detroit, MI
- University of Minnesota Midwest Center of Occupational safety and Health, Minneapolis, MN
*National Safety Education Center, a consortium comprised of the following:
- Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL (lead organization)
- Construction Safety Council, Hillside, IL National Safety Council, Itasca, IL
A consortium comprised of the following:
- Ohio Valley Construction Education Foundation, Springboro, OH (lead organization)
- Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH
Region VI
*Texas Engineering Extension Service, Mesquite, TX
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Region VII
*Metropolitan Community Colleges Business & Technology Center, Kansas City, MO
A consortium comprised of the following:
- St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO (lead organization)
- Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA
- Safety and Health Council of Greater Omaha, Omaha, NE
Region VIII
*Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood CO
Rocky Mountain Center, Salt Lake City, UT, a consortium of the following.
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (lead organization)
- Salt Lake City Community College System
Region IX
*University of California, San Diego
Westside Energy Services Training & Education Center, Bakersfield, CA
Region X *University of Washington, Seattle, WA
