Some of you might comment “so what’s new about that?”; especially if you are a health & safety professional that is wondering where this health & safety bashing will end.

On this occasion it relates to where David Cameron recently gave a speech that was to promote the Governments Start-Up Loans scheme. In this speech he told the audience that onerous health & safety regulations are partly responsible for discouraging businesses to offer work experience places to young people.

Mr Cameron suggested that we have a potential problem because a lot of kids aren`t getting the sort of work experience that you used to get.  He concluded it was because we need to simplify health & safety rules.

However, IOSH has responded that it does not agree with the PM that health & safety rules are too burdensome in relation to work experience. IOSH has commented that work experience should not be too onerous on companies and that all that is needed is to take a proportionate approach to risk assessment.

From working with businesses across the UK we do see that a lot less tend to offer work experience but generally, health & safety is rarely identified as the reason for this.  Looking at these businesses we would say it’s often because they have a lot less people available than they would have done some years before.  This coupled with the fact that those employed have very little, if any, spare time to spend with the work experience kids, obviously has an impact.

The Federation of Small Businesses has said that there are many factors that can deter small businesses from taking on young people; they cited poor engagement between firms and schools, a lack of confidence that school leavers have the appropriate skills, and the costs of complying with employment legislation.

So what do you think; is it health & safety that stops your business offering work experience places or do you have other reasons?  Why not let us know and we will provide feedback to IOSH.