“Vulnerable workers” in the U.S. who are not proficient in English may be at risk of not being properly trained for safe work at height.

At the IPAF Summit in Miami, Jordan Barab, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, highlighted the need to target “vulnerable workers” with limited English proficiency and commended IPAF’s ongoing training and safety initiatives. IPAF CEO Tim Whiteman committed to provide the AWPT operator training program in Spanish.

AWPT-approved training centers that will be offering the operator course in Spanish include Valcourt Exterior Building Services based in New Jersey. The AWPT eLearning module will be available in Spanish by the end of September.

“IPAF has met the commitment it made to provide materials in other languages,” noted Tony Groat, IPAF USA and AWPT executive vice-president. “We open up the challenge to those in the industry. Get your employees trained in a manner they can understand for safe AWP operations. The material and the tools are there and there is no excuse for untrained workers when working at height.”