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Joint Health and Safety Committee Training for Alberta and BC

Self-paced online JHSC training built for the province you work in. Committee members, representatives, co-chairs and supervisors can start today, work at their own pace and finish with a Certificate of Completion.

Alberta and British Columbia set their own committee rules, terms and training requirements, so we built a separate online course for each. Both teach the practical side of committee work: dealing with worker concerns, taking part in inspections and investigations, writing recommendations that get acted on and following up until the fix is in place.

Alberta Online CourseBC Online CourseBook Group Training

Online courses for Alberta and British Columbia, plus live virtual and classroom training for committees that want to train together.

Joint health and safety committee training for Alberta and BC

Online courses

Choose your online committee course

Pick the course for the province where the committee operates. Each one is self-paced, open 24 hours a day and works on a computer, tablet or phone.

Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Alberta

$49.99 per learner

An Alberta-focused course for health and safety committee members, Health and Safety Representatives, co-chairs, supervisors and managers. It explains how committees and representatives work within Alberta's OHS system and how worker and employer members work together to find and fix problems.

  • About 2 to 2.5 hours, including about 1 hour and 20 minutes of lesson video.
  • 10 lessons with workplace examples and knowledge checks.
  • Roles and responsibilities, worker participation, hazard identification, inspections and incident review.
  • Final assessment and a Certificate of Completion for your training records.
Start the Alberta Course

BC Joint Health and Safety Committee Training

$45.99 per learner

A full BC course for new and current joint committee members, designed to meet the topic and minimum-hour training requirements for new members in section 3.27 of the OHS Regulation. It covers BC's Workers Compensation Act, the OHS Regulation, and WorkSafeBC policies and guidelines.

  • About 12 hours: 24 narrated lessons in six modules, with just over 11 hours of video.
  • A knowledge check after every lesson and a 24-question final exam.
  • A downloadable Student Reference Guide with BC reference tables and 15 worksheets and checklists.
  • Certificate of Completion and Training Record.
Start the BC Course

WorkSafeBC doesn't approve or certify committee training courses. A Certificate of Completion documents the training a learner finished. It isn't a professional designation or government licence.

Which course?

Find the right training for each person

Choose training for the province where the person works and the role they hold. If you're not sure, call us and we'll help you sort it out.

  • Alberta committee member, co-chair or Health and Safety RepresentativeTake the Alberta online course.
    Alberta JHSC training
  • New or current BC joint committee memberTake the BC online course. It's designed to meet the section 3.27 training requirements for new members.
    BC JHSC training
  • BC worker health and safety representativeRepresentatives can take the BC course, which covers the committee topics in more depth than the representative minimum. Check that it fits the training your employer has planned.
    BC JHSC training
  • Supervisors and managers who work with the committeeEither course helps them understand how concerns and recommendations should be handled.
  • A whole committee that wants to train togetherBook live virtual or classroom training, or buy online seats for everyone.
    Group training options

How it works

How online committee training works

Buy your seat

Enrol on the course page. Each registration is for one named learner.

Sign in and start

Sign in to My Account with the email you used at checkout. Access is immediate and open 24 hours a day.

Work through the lessons

Watch each lesson, answer the knowledge check and pick up where you left off whenever you return.

Pass the final assessment

Complete the final assessment to finish the course.

Keep your certificate

Download your Certificate of Completion and give your employer a copy for its training records.

Training more than one person? Buy the number of seats you need, then complete our Group Training Student Information form. We set up each learner's account within 24 hours of receiving complete information, and orders of 10 or more seats of the same course get 10% off automatically at checkout.

Requirements

Committee requirements in Alberta and BC

The two provinces use different terms, worker thresholds and training rules. Here's a plain-language summary of each.

Alberta

  • Committee: required when an employer regularly employs 20 or more workers.
  • Health and Safety Representative: required when an employer regularly employs 5 to 19 workers.
  • Members: there can't be more employer members than worker members, and a committee has two co-chairs, one chosen by each side.
  • Training: employers must train committee members and representatives on the roles and responsibilities of co-chairs, members and representatives, work site party obligations and worker rights.

Sources: Alberta OHS Act, sections 13 and 14, and the Alberta OHS Code, Part 13.

British Columbia

  • Joint committee: required at a workplace with 20 or more workers.
  • Worker health and safety representative: required with more than 9 but fewer than 20 workers.
  • Training: joint committee members selected on or after April 3, 2017 must receive at least 8 hours of training, and representatives at least 4 hours, under section 3.27 of the OHS Regulation.
  • Educational leave: each member and representative is also entitled to 8 hours of leave each year to attend OHS training.

Sources: Workers Compensation Act, Part 2, and OHS Regulation, section 3.27.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check the current legislation on alberta.ca or worksafebc.com for your situation. Federally regulated workplaces fall under the Canada Labour Code instead.

Why it matters

Why Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Pays Off

A committee that exists only on paper doesn't protect anyone. Training is what turns a monthly meeting into a group that finds problems and gets them fixed.

Untrained committees tend to spend their meetings listing complaints without deciding who will act or by when. Inspection findings sit open for months. Workers stop raising concerns because nothing seems to happen. When an OHS officer or a COR auditor asks for evidence that the committee is working, the minutes don't show it.

Think of a warehouse where forklifts and pedestrians share the same aisles. A trained committee member knows how to document the concern, look at the hazard assessment, suggest practical controls such as marked walkways or traffic rules, and follow up until the change is in place.

For employers, that means fewer repeat incidents, better follow-up on inspections, stronger evidence for COR or SECOR audits and a more useful conversation between workers and management. Online training is a small investment compared with the cost of a serious injury, a stop-work order or a failed audit.

Group training

Live virtual and classroom training for committees

Online courses suit most individual learners. When a whole committee is new, or an existing one isn't working as it should, live training lets the group work through its own terms of reference, meeting process, inspection schedule and recommendations together.

Virtual instructor-led training

Live training online, with no travel. Members can ask questions, discuss real situations and see how the legislation applies to their workplace. It works well for new committees, multi-location employers and remote operations.

Request Virtual Training

Classroom training

Training at your workplace or another agreed location, built around your hazards, safety system and committee records. It's the best fit when you're setting up a committee or fixing one that's struggling with participation, recommendations or follow-up.

Request Classroom Training

Course content

What Does Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Cover?

Course content follows each province's legislation, but both online courses focus on the work a committee actually does:

  • The purpose of committees and representatives, and the roles of co-chairs, worker members and employer members.
  • Employer, supervisor and worker duties, and worker rights.
  • Receiving and dealing with worker concerns.
  • Hazard identification and the hierarchy of controls.
  • Planning and taking part in workplace inspections.
  • Incident investigations and refusal of unsafe work.
  • Writing practical recommendations and tracking corrective action.
  • Effective meetings, minutes and committee records.
  • Checking that the controls put in place actually work.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions About JHSC Training

Can I take joint health and safety committee training online?

Yes. We offer self-paced online courses for Alberta and for British Columbia. You can start right after you enrol, work at your own pace and receive a Certificate of Completion when you finish.

Which online course should I take?

Take the course for the province where you work. Alberta committee members and Health and Safety Representatives take the Alberta course. BC joint committee members take the BC course, which is designed to meet the section 3.27 training requirements for new members.

Who needs joint health and safety committee training in Alberta?

Employers must train committee members and Health and Safety Representatives on the roles and responsibilities of co-chairs, members and representatives, work site party obligations and worker rights. A committee is required when an employer regularly employs 20 or more workers, and a representative when it regularly employs 5 to 19.

Who needs joint committee training in British Columbia?

Joint committee members selected on or after April 3, 2017 must receive at least 8 hours of training, and worker health and safety representatives at least 4 hours, under section 3.27 of the OHS Regulation. Our online BC JHSC training is designed to meet the requirements for new committee members.

Does WorkSafeBC approve committee training courses?

WorkSafeBC doesn't approve or certify committee training courses. The BC course is designed to meet the topic and minimum-hour requirements in section 3.27 of the OHS Regulation. Your employer remains responsible for making sure members receive the required training.

How long do the online courses take?

The Alberta course takes about 2 to 2.5 hours. The BC course takes about 12 hours, including just over 11 hours of lesson video, because BC sets a minimum of 8 hours of training for new committee members. You can stop and return at any time.

Do participants receive a certificate?

Yes. Learners receive a Certificate of Completion after meeting the course and assessment requirements. A course certificate documents completed training but shouldn't be confused with a professional designation or government licence.

How do I buy online training for a whole committee?

Buy the number of seats you need on the course page, then complete our Group Training Student Information form with your order number and each learner's details. We set up each account within 24 hours of receiving complete information. Orders of 10 or more seats of the same course get 10% off automatically.

What is the difference between online and virtual committee training?

Online training is self-paced, and learners complete the lessons on their own. Virtual training is delivered live by an instructor, so participants can ask questions and work through workplace situations as a group.

Should supervisors and managers take committee training?

It helps. Supervisors and managers receive concerns and recommendations, assign corrective actions and provide operational information. Knowing how the committee process works reduces delays when a concern needs management action.

Does committee training help with COR or SECOR?

Effective committee training can support a COR or SECOR safety management system by improving worker participation, inspections, recommendations and corrective-action follow-up. Completing training alone doesn't guarantee certification or a particular audit result.

What should a new committee do after training?

Agree on terms of reference, set a regular meeting schedule, plan workplace inspections, and set up a simple way to track recommendations and corrective actions. Reviewing those records at every meeting is the easiest way to show the committee is working.

Get started

Ready to train your committee?

Start the online course for Alberta or BC today, or contact us about live virtual or classroom training for your whole committee. We aim to reply within 2 to 4 hours, or by the next business day.

Alberta Online CourseBC Online Course
Request Group Training

Training a team?

Group enrolment for online courses

Enrol your crew, supervisors or safety committee in any of our online courses. Buy your enrolments online, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up an individual account for each worker. Each worker completes the training online and receives a certificate of completion. Training 10 or more workers on the same course? A 10% group discount is applied automatically at checkout. For instructor-led training or a custom group arrangement, use the form below to request a group quote.

Request a group quote

Or call 1-888-231-0358

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