Every employer must ensure they select a Lead Worker Representative and that their teams are trained in Covid19 awareness according to the Returning to Work Safely Protocol.

Orlagh Deegan owner of www.choicetraining.ie is an experienced health and safety trainer. Initially she was first to market with Covid19 Compliance Officer training courses for the construction industry and was delivering training for the hospitality and retail industries well before the launch of the Return to Work Safely Protocol. Initially there were only a handful of providers delivering this training and Orlagh stated that she was shocked by the premium prices on Covid19 related training and said in some cases it was extortionate, ‘I made a decision from day 1 that I would not increase my normal training rates and take advantage of this awful situation’. Now there are hundreds of providers, but due to the feedback and word of mouth from our courses, it has certainly had a very positive knock on effect and we have given numerous free places to charities that we have worked with in the past.

This has resulted in the company leading the way in Covid19 Compliance Training for employers and employees and Choice Training took on a number of new trainers to deal with the volume. It’s a difficult time for trainers and like many other people they ceased working in mid-March, Choice Training are delighted to be able to create employment.

In the month of May the main demand was for the construction industry who were back to work first but with the governments phased approach to return to work. Choice Training has trained well over 1000 people as Covid19 Compliance Officers in the first two weeks for construction sites and companies across the country. This work is ongoing for the construction industry but the focus has now shifted to retail and food business preparing for phase two and three re-openings.  The knock on effect of the training has led to Orlagh and her team assisting companies with Covid19 specific risk assessments, policies and procedure documentation.

It’s important for businesses to pivot and adapt to the changed world in which we are now living. Business will not be the same for a while to come and the landscape and consumer behaviours will mean that we must adapt to the new normal, whatever that may be. Orlagh is an avid believer that tutor led training is far superior than purely online programmes where there is zero interaction and opportunity for question and input. So Orlagh has brough the classroom online, but still encourages two way feedback and interaction between the trainer and learners.  

Orlagh herself is an occupational health and safety consultant but her experience in food safety and infection control has been of great benefit to her and enabled her to develop a suite of Covid19 specific training courses. She started www.choicetraining.ie in 2015 and despite the initial slow down in March and April is very optimistic about the continued growth of the business.