Workers warned of misleading online white card training
The following article is a news item provided for the benefit of the Workplace Health and Safety profession. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.
Date:
Sunday, 19 February, 2023 - 12:45
Category:
Policy & legislation
Location:
Northern Territory
Workers looking for training to apply for an NT white card should be wary of misleading businesses offering cheap white card courses online, according to NT WorkSafe.
To work in the construction industry in the Northern Territory, workers must complete face-to-face general construction induction training delivered by an NT WorkSafe approved Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and obtain a white card.
Online white card courses and courses not delivered by an approved RTO are not recognised by NT WorkSafe.
Lisa Taylor, manager of licensing and advisory services for NT WorkSafe said 37 per cent of white card applications received over the past four months had to be rejected due to invalid certificates from these fake online training providers.
“Feedback from some people on why they chose these online courses included it was cheaper than the face-to-face training or they didn’t want to waste time and sit in a training room,” she said.
“Unfortunately, you can’t take shortcuts when it comes to safety. A list of approved RTOs to deliver white card training in the NT is available on the NT WorkSafe website.
“If you are doing your training with someone not on this list, you are wasting your time and money,” said Taylor, who reminded employers to thoroughly inspect every white card being presented to ensure that workers have completed the acceptable training before performing construction work.