In 2007, with funding from the Civil Society Challenge Fund, Department for International Development, we supported a project promoting Health and Safety (H&S) in construction in Tanzania. The project trained 52 Tanzanian men and women to become trainers in H&S construction, and those trained included representatives of key organisations involved in construction and in Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) in Tanzania, representatives from the main educational institutions responsible for training engineers, construction managers and technicians.
Working with local partners
We shared responsibility for the training with our local partner, the Institution of Engineers Tanzania (IET). Two other key institutions were also involved, the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) and the Contractors Registration Board (CRB). A small committee was formed, comprising representatives from the three organisations, to steer the project and take on some of the responsibility for planning and implementing training activities.
The impact of the training
Participation in the training programme by key staff members of these institutions has facilitated the mainstreaming of OHS training into professional and technical education, as well as into Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses.
In addition, having the institutions, the OSHA and the CRB, behind the programme helped the process of delivering training to contractors and it also helped to ensure the sustainability of the training after the project funding ceased – many of those trained went onto become inspectors and trainers for OSHA. The training activities are also being continued through a NGO set up by the trainers.
It is expected that what was achieved in the construction sector through this project will have positive spill-over (through OSHA) into other sectors in Tanzania and (through regional and international networks) into other countries of the region and beyond.
Training videos
You can watch our health and safety training videos via the links below: