Trusted health and safety training from IHSA’s expert instructors

IHSA instructors use their jobsite experience to help workers develop real-world skills. They’ve walked the walk so they can talk the talk.

Ontario is one of the safest places in the world to work. But it’s not perfect. Every year, workers become ill or are seriously injured or killed in a wide range of incidents, such as chemical spills, motor vehicle crashes, and falls from heights.

Proper health and safety training is one of the best defences against these types of incidents.

IHSA is Ontario’s trusted provider of more than 100 training courses for the construction, aggregates, electrical utilities, and transportation industries. Our programs give workers the knowledge and skills to identify hazards, minimize their risk, and perform their jobs effectively.

What’s one big reason for our success? IHSA’s dozens of training instructors are health and safety experts who have spent years in the field, performing the very tasks that they now teach.

“I started in construction about 30 years ago as a labourer, then became a supervisor, a manager, and, ultimately, a director of environmental health and safety and quality management,” says Lisa Roberts, an IHSA Health and Safety Consultant who teaches courses like Basics of Supervising and JHSC Certification - Part 1. “I’ve walked the walk and talked the talk, which helps to bring real-life examples and experience into the classroom.”

This kind of expertise matters. Health and safety training isn’t just about citing regulations or checking boxes. It’s about knowing what can go wrong—and what to do in those situations—depending on jobsite conditions and other variables.

IHSA trained 44,076 people in 5,289 courses between January and September 2025 at our 11 regional training facilities, partner locations, and member workplaces. These courses are tailored to meet the needs of IHSA members and include our Chief Prevention Officer-approved working at heights and joint health and safety committee training, free Basics of Supervising course, in-depth Surface Miner Common Core program, and four-level powerline technician (PLTN) apprenticeship.

“Our programs are developed with our subject matter experts in-house. Our consultants and trainers have years of experience—and in conjunction with them, our staff who develop programs come with experience in applying adult learning principles to ensure that participants have a high level of engagement in the programs,” says Enzo Garritano, President and CEO of IHSA.

In addition to their subject matter expertise, IHSA’s trainers spend hours improving their teaching skills, earning certifications, auditing classes, and staying current with legislation and best practices.

“IHSA really is the industry’s resource,” says Brian Barron, CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat. “You can rest assured that any training or resource material that they put together is well researched and provided by experts within the industry.”

What IHSA members are saying

“The business is constantly changing and evolving, and I find that IHSA’s courses are keeping up with everything that’s changing and keeping things current to what we’re doing today in the field.”
—Reno Capano, Project Manager, TACC Construction Ltd.

“I would describe IHSA as motivating, supportive, and passionate. They’re all passionate about safety. They believe in it, so when you believe in something that’s so close to your heart, you can convey the message a lot clearer.”
—Kathy Murdock, Safety and Compliance Manager, Messenger Freight Systems

“One of the best things with going to IHSA for training programs is the alignment. Our employees are able to take the same training through IHSA, so then all of us are on the same page when we’re trying to make any improvements in the workplace. When we’re all aligned, it just makes it run a lot more efficiently.”
—Luke Shaw, Health and Safety Trainer, Tomlinson

“IHSA helps our members, particularly our small members, be able to understand the Occupational Health and Safety Act—and there are a lot of health and safety requirements, for the owner, the executive, the manager, the supervisor, and the actual worker. They can call IHSA, and IHSA can help them get through a very complex, but very necessary, part of construction in Ontario.”
—Mike Carter, CEO, London and District Construction Association

“Since engaging with IHSA for training, we’ve seen [improvement] in all areas for compliance and the way our people approach safety, especially on jobsites. It’s not about pointing fingers. It’s figuring out how [we can] do this better. What can we do to improve?”
—Christopher Halliday, Fleet Safety Driver and Equipment Trainer, Green Infrastructure Partners

“When we go up to do a task, whether it’s in the classroom or out in the field, the IHSA instructors have a really good understanding of what we’re doing. So, any questions we have and any kind of tips that they can give us on how to work more efficiently and how to work safely—they’re always right there to help and to push you to that next step that you need to get to.”
—Francisco Amantea, Powerline Technician Apprentice, Durham High Voltage

Training for every task

Health and safety training teaches workers how to recognize the hazards they face and to do their jobs safely. It also helps employers fulfill their duty to protect workers.

IHSA offers expert-led training programs on more than 100 topics specific to the industries we serve—plus dozens of accessible eLearning courses to help improve your hazard awareness. Here are just a few of the options.

Construction

Basics of Supervising: The roles, responsibilities, and legal duties of supervisors, with a focus on effective health and safety leadership.

Confined Space Entry: A detailed look at the hazards of confined spaces and the requirements for safe entry, monitoring, and rescue procedures.

Traffic Control – Temporary Work Zones: Essential knowledge for creating, implementing, and overseeing traffic control plans that protect workers on or near public roadways.

Trenching Safety Hazard Awareness: The basics of soil classification, preventive and protective systems, and emergency planning for excavation and trench work.

Working at Heights – Fundamentals of Fall Prevention: The basics of fall prevention and protection, including hazard identification, harness inspection, and working on suspended access equipment.

Aggregates

Surface Miner Common Core: Wide-ranging instruction on surface mining hazards, including water, conveyer belt systems, sources of energy, and hand and power tools.

Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) - Part 2 (Aggregates): Practical, sector-specific knowledge for identifying and addressing hazards unique to aggregates workplaces.

Electrical utilities

Powerline Technician Apprenticeship: Comprehensive instruction on the skills and safe-work practices necessary for the in-demand electrical utility sector.

Line Crew Ground Support: Training in more than two-dozen disciplines that teaches new or young workers how to keep line crews efficient, coordinated, and protected.

Utility Work Protection Code (UWPC): An in-depth look at the UWPC, its forms, and tags for participants aiming to become certified as a holder or issuer of work protection.

Transportation

Defensive Driving – Commercial: Hazard awareness and collision-prevention principles for professional drivers.

Ergonomics for Transportation – How to Prevent Strains, Sprains, and Overexertion: Practical strategies to reduce strain, discomfort, and musculoskeletal injuries related to driving.

Transportation of Dangerous Goods: An overview of the legal requirements and best practices for safely handling and transporting hazardous materials.

eLearning

Basics of Health and Safety for Small Business: The legal duties of small business owners to protect their workers.

Driver Fatigue – Prevention and Practical Solutions: The causes and effects of fatigue while driving, as well as ways to recognize symptoms and manage workload.

Entry-Level Construction: A foundational course covering common hazards, rights and responsibilities, and safe practices for new and young workers.

Opening the Door to Support: Guidance for spotting the signs of workers who are struggling with mental health, starting supportive conversations, and connecting them to help.

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