Safety Campaign Ghana To Introduce Three-Month Safety Mentorship School For Beginners

Safety Campaign Ghana is set to introduce a three-month mentorship school aimed at people who want to build careers in health, safety and environmental management but have no previous background in the field.

The initiative will form part of the organisation’s next mentorship cohort and is intended to address a gap identified among applicants who have an interest in safety but lack formal training in the area.

Speaking on the Culture Daily Morning Show on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM, representatives of Safety Campaign Ghana, Charlotte Abena Benyarku and Engineer Henry Ato Sackey, said the programme would provide participants with the basic knowledge required to begin a career in safety.

The organisation has operated since 2022 and focuses on promoting safety awareness in workplaces, communities and public spaces.

According to them, the proposed mentorship school will cover areas including health, safety and environmental management, incident investigation, fire safety and risk assessment.

“we’re going to run what we call a mentorship school, wherein, with respect of your background, if you want to go into safety or HSE practice, you go to mentorship school for three months,” Eng. Henry Ato Sackey said.

He explained that participants would be introduced to fundamental safety practices before proceeding to the organisation’s one-on-one mentorship programme.

Safety Campaign Ghana currently runs a six-month mentorship programme targeted at fresh graduates and young professionals, particularly those with between one and three years of work experience.

The programme selects a small number of mentees from a much larger pool of applicants.

According to the organisation, it received more than 450 applications for the previous cohort but selected only 10 mentees.

Selected participants are paired with experienced professionals from sectors including oil and gas, mining, production and food.

The mentors help participants develop practical knowledge in areas such as risk assessment and incident investigation, while the programme also provides guidance on career development, professional certification and personal branding.

Participants are encouraged to share what they learn on LinkedIn as part of efforts to promote safety awareness and develop their professional profiles.

Safety Campaign Ghana also provides selected participants with scholarships and internship opportunities.

Abena said the organisation’s programmes are designed to help young people gain clarity about possible career paths in the safety sector.

The representatives said the field offers opportunities beyond the conventional perception of a safety officer.

According to them, people trained in health, safety and environmental management can work as safety professionals, environmental professionals, quality officers or in sustainability units.

They stressed that safety professionals are required across different industries because workplaces have different hazards and require systems to manage risks and ensure compliance.

The organisation said its broader safety campaigns also extend beyond workplaces.

It conducts public education on issues such as fire safety, food safety and road safety, while mentees have been taken into communities and mechanic shops to conduct risk assessments and provide basic safety education.

Safety Campaign Ghana said it has also collaborated on road safety campaigns in Obuasi and plans to continue such activities.

The organisation’s representatives said the broader objective is to make safety awareness part of everyday life rather than limiting it to formal workplaces.

“Safety is a way of life,” Eng. Sackey said, explaining that the objective is for people to leave home for work and return safely.

The organisation said its approach covers risks at home, on the road, in public spaces and at workplaces.