As a solution to tackle down the stigma around mental health in the scaffolding industry, £30,000 has been funded by the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC), to train mental health 250 first aiders.
NASC’S campaign, Head for Heights, raises awareness on employee wellbeing in the workplace, which also enabled the funding.
The £30,000 covers four mental health first aid courses, offered by the British Safety Council, MHFA England St John Ambulance and 3B Training.
Other funds that NASC have launched includes £150,000 to train and upskill former serviceman, which was unveiled a month before the £30,000 fund. Altogether, NASC has funded a total of £280,000 and is available to members to subsidise the cost of training.
NASC also provides members with financial support for the completion of CISRS Operative Training Scheme (COTS) and continuing professional development (CPD) training.
Recent activities by NASC include the creation of SG38:19, a free guidance on mental health and wellbeing that provides employers with proactive steps they can take to improve wellbeing in the workplace as well as a host of useful links and services that they can signpost their employees to, and a mental health-focused toolbox talk.
Lynn Way, NASC president, said: “The £30,000 funding pot will help pay for nearly 250 NASC member employees to complete a mental health first aid course. This will go a long way to improving awareness and understanding of mental health and wellbeing issues in the workplace and enable NASC members to better support their employees if and when they need to.
“The Head for Heights campaign has been incredibly well-received by NASC members, who are as keen to do more to support anyone in the industry who’s dealing with a mental health challenge. There’s much more to come from us on this front in the year ahead.”
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
