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Young Workers - Speakers Network
Speakers Resource
WorkSafeBC (the Workers' Compensation Board) has compiled a list of volunteer speakers who can talk to your school or parent advisory council (PAC) about health and safety and young worker issues. We have a variety of speakers with unique expertise and experiences ranging from injured young workers to business leaders to health and safety educators. Scroll through our speakers' profiles to choose the one(s) whose presentation is the best match for your audience. Detailed contact information can be found under each speaker's profile. You can also learn more about injured young worker speakers by reviewing our brochure.
SPEAKERS
Disclaimer
The Young Worker Speakers' Resource was created primarily to assist secondary schools and PACs interested in scheduling speakers on the issue of young worker health and safety. WorkSafeBC does not act on behalf of, or represent, any speaker listed on this website. No endorsement by WorkSafeBC of the speaker or of his or her presentation may be inferred by inclusion of the speaker on this website. WorkSafeBC assumes no liability or responsibility for the performance of a speaker or reliance on the information provided by a speaker. Where views are expressed, they are the views or opinions of the speaker only and do not represent the regulations, policies, guidelines, practices or positions of WorkSafeBC. Speakers must be contacted directly to discuss their availability for speaking engagements.
Injured Young Workers
Nick Perry
Nick was 19, when he got a job at a Victoria lumberyard. Six months later 42 loose sheets of lumber weighing 1,200 kilograms fell on him, leaving him an incomplete paraplegic. Today, he is able to walk, but his life is not back to normal. "All that independence that you worked so hard to gain can be taken away from you in a snap of your fingers", he warns. "Know your rights at work, because you can get hurt. Just look at what happened to me."See Nick's Story. (Video 4 min. 48 sec.) |
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| Length of the Presentation: | Forty-five to 60 minutes (45 minute presentation only, 60 minutes when combined with Lost Youth Video). |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages |
| Geographical Restrictions: | None |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils |
| Requirements: | None |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Josh Dueck
Josh had a clear vision. He would make a career out of his passion---freestyle skiing. It all changed in 2004. "I was doing a test jump and miscalculated my speed," he says. "I ended up going much too large and over-shot the landing hill. I landed chest first and folded in half like a scorpion." Months of rehabilitation were required so Josh could learn how to live his new life as a paraplegic.See Josh's Story. (Video 6 min. 48 sec.) |
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| Length of the Presentation: | Forty-five to 60 minutes (45 minute presentation only, 60 minutes when combined with Lost Youth Video). |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages |
| Geographical Restrictions: | None |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils |
| Requirements: | Wheelchair accessibility |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Michael Lovett
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Michael Lovett was still in his teens when he was injured. He now wears a prosthetic after his leg was crushed by sawmill machinery. He wasn't properly trained to deal with hazards and risks at his workplace. His life, like the lives of other young workers whose youth were cut short by workplace accidents, will never be the same. View Michael's presentation See Michael's Story. (Video 6 min. 39 sec.) |
| Length of the Presentation: | Forty-five to 60 minutes (45 minute presentation only, 60 minutes when combined with Lost Youth Video). |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages. |
| Geographical Restrictions: | None. |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils. |
| Requirements: | None. |
| Contact Information: |
To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Matthew Bowcott
 Matthew Bowcott wants young workers to know that ignoring a gut feeling about safety on the job can have tragic consequences. He was a cook, helping to close a restaurant one uneventful evening, and had been carrying a huge pot of hot oil for disposal. He came to a wet patch of floor and knew something was wrong, but kept going. Matthew slipped and fell, and the oil severely burned more than 40 percent of his body. |
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| Length of the Presentation: | Forty-five minutes |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages |
| Geographical Restrictions: | None |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils |
| Requirements: | Equipment to show powerpoint slides |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Mark Johnson
 Mark Johnson looks like most people, but he's "an amputee without a complete amputation". Mark has limited use of his left arm after being trapped in moving machinery as a 21-year-old sawmill worker. |
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| Length of the Presentation: | Thirty to 45 minutes (30 minute presentation only, 45 minutes when combined with Lost Youth Video). |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages |
| Geographical Restrictions: | None |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils |
| Requirements: | None |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Jessica Kruger
 An avid sailor and sport enthusiast, Jessica Kruger's life changed forever after she took a job as an exterior housepainter at age 15. She was 6 metres above the ground when she fell and broke her neck and spine in four places, rendering her quadriplegic. After years of rehabilitation, she is now playing wheelchair rugby, working on her Arts degree at Simon Fraser University, and eyeing a spot in the next Paralympics. "The accident will not stop me from living my life," she says. "Still, I'm looking at living the rest of my life without legs and I know I should have worn a safety harness." |
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| Length of the Presentation: | Thirty to 45 minutes (30 minute presentation only, 45 minutes when combined with Lost Youth Video). |
| Recommended Audience: | Suitable for all ages |
| Geographical Restrictions: | Lower Mainland |
| Cost: | No charge for schools and Parent Advisory Councils |
| Requirements: | None |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7696. |
Parents of Injured Young Workers
When Kathleen Higgins' eldest child went out to his first job at age 16---the first real job for any of her children---she never imagined what the consequences could be.
"I knew he was working really hard, but when they called and told me there had been an accident, I could never have guessed how serious it was," she says. "I thought at worst, it was a cut or a sprain."
On September 25, 1998, her son John Jr. slipped behind a moving forklift at work, was crushed, and broke his back. Kathleen's shock was soon overtaken by her fear for John's life, and then her anxieties about his almost-certain paralysis.
| Length of the Presentation: | Thirty to 60 minutes |
| Equipment/facility requirements: | TV/VCR |
| Recommended Audience: | Parents, youth |
| Geographical Restrictions: | Available to present in the Lower Mainland |
| Cost: | None |
| Requirements: | None |
| Contact Information: | To book the presentation, or phone 604 231-8578 (toll-free 1 888 621-7233, local 8578) or fax 604 279-7545. |
WorkSafeBC Officer Presentation Program
To help reduce the number of young people injured on the job, WorkSafeBC is taking the safety message to the classroom. Its prevention officers are available to talk to grade 10, 11, and 12 students about health and safety in the workplace. They can share their extensive knowledge and experience with your group.To book an officer presentation contact your local WorkSafeBC prevention office, or phone 604 276-3100, in the Lower Mainland, or toll free 1 888 621-7233 outside of the Lower Mainland, and ask for the prevention regional manager for your geographic area.
Organized Labour
BC Federation of Labour
The B.C. Federation of Labour represents 500,000 members of affiliated unions in more than 1,100 locals, working in every aspect of the BC economy.
The BCFED Health & Safety Centre Young Worker Program is funded by WorkSafeBC to educate young workers and students in occupational health and safety issues. The program provides participants with the tools necessary to understand and exercise their occupational health and safety rights and responsibilities.
Summary of workers presentation:
- Young workers from across the province are trained to teach this course to students in high schools and employment programs.
- The Occupational Health and Safety for students and young workers' course is designed to give the participants an understanding of the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation which govern their rights in the workplace. It will also give them the skills to interpret and respond appropriately to health and safety situations which may arise in their workplaces.
- The course is designed to be interactive and encourage student participation.
- To learn more
| Length of the Presentation: | Seventy minutes, or the length of one period. |
| Equipment/facility requirements: | TV and VCR or DVD player. |
| Other requirements: | None |
| Speaker's availability: | We have trainers available at any time. Please allow three weeks' notice for booking sessions. |
| Geographical availability: | Trainers are available for most areas of the province. |
| Contact Information: | Jennifer Lambert, Coordinator |
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