Safeguarding Diverse Workforces

Safeguarding Diverse Workforces: The Power of Multilingual Health & Safety Training

Manufacturing & Logistics Diverse Workforces

Since the 60s and 70s, British businesses en masse opted to offshore their manufacturing to capitalize on larger workforces and cheaper labour. Despite the recent trend of reshoring manufacturing to the UK due to the bureaucratic challenges of Brexit and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector’s workforce remains diverse. According to recent statistics from The Migration Observatory, 19% of the manufacturing workforce in the UK is composed of non-UK workers, with 10% of these being from EU countries. Similarly, the transport & storage sector has a 27% non-UK workforce, with 12% hailing from EU countries. Notably, these workers often hold roles with inherent health and safety risks, such as ‘factory and machine operators’ and ‘drivers and mobile machine operators’. This article will therefore address how to safeguard diverse workforces within the UK’s Manufacturing  and Logistics industries.

Employers’ Duty to Safeguard their Foreign Workers

Employers worldwide have varying duties concerning employee safety. In China, manufacturing workers must undergo training in fire safety, personal protective equipment (PPE), production safety, and machinery operation. Of course, UK businesses with manufacturing facilities in China will need to ensure training is localised for their Chinese workers.

In the UK, adherence to the Health and Safety Executive guidelines is crucial. Employers have a duty to safeguard the health and safety of employees by communicating clear information, including work instructions, risks, safety measures, and emergency procedures to all workers. However, the language barrier faced by migrant workers complicates this task. While guidelines suggest using simple, clear English in training sessions, the reality of limited English proficiency among migrant workers in high-risk roles highlights the translation of health and safety training materials as a more prudent and ethical approach to ensure workers’ welfare.

Benefits of Multilingual Health and Safety Training

Reshoring manufacturing does not negate the need for health and safety translation. Translating training materials ensures that diverse workforces can access and comprehend critical information. This is essential for engaging migrant workers in health and safety training and ensuring compliance with safety procedures. As highlighted in our previous blog, The Symbiotic Surge of eLearning and Translation, even when migrant workers possess good English skills, information retention improves when delivered in their native language. CSA research indicates that 65% of highly proficient non-native English-speaking employees prefer content in their native language.

Proactive Safeguarding for Business Success

Just as businesses prioritize improving working conditions offshore to protect their workers’ welfare and their reputation, they must also actively safeguard foreign workers in UK manufacturing and logistics. With consumers becoming more educated and ESG reporting becoming increasingly regulated, the stakes are higher for businesses. Making the translation of health and safety training as well as safeguarding diverse workforces a strategic necessity, rather than just a legal obligation, is important in today’s diverse and global workforce landscape.

AST’s Multilingual Training Solutions with ‘Marked Improvement’

Our recent partnership with Marked Improvement, a leading training provider, aims to deliver comprehensive multilingual eLearning solutions to businesses with diverse and global workforces. We’re an East-Midlands partnership, created to help manufacturing, logistics, and storage and transport companies in our region and beyond ensure effective communication of and compliance with health and safety regulations. We offer multilingual training solutions in over 65 languages, including Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian and Turkish.

A post by Hannah Memmott.