{"id":54906,"date":"2026-02-05T16:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=54906"},"modified":"2026-02-05T16:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:07:59","slug":"ohsa-investing-in-free-training-courses-for-smes-and-the-self-employed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/ohsa-investing-in-free-training-courses-for-smes-and-the-self-employed\/","title":{"rendered":"OHSA investing in free training courses for SMEs and the self-employed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Minister for Justice and Construction Sector Reform, Jonathan Attard, announced the implementation of a Budget 2026 measure, as a new training programme in health and safety at the workplace was launched.<\/p>\n<p>With an investment of \u20ac400,000 spread over twenty-four months, this programme will be implemented by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and will be available free of charge to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the self-employed in different sectors.<\/p>\n<p>During the launch of this programme, Minister Attard stressed that this investment represents another concrete step in the Government&#8217;s commitment to invest in people and strengthen the prevention of accidents in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This Budget measure and the continued investment are clear signs of the Government&#8217;s commitment to occupational health and safety for all workers. Just a few months after the opening of the OHSA training centre, today we are launching this investment to tangibly continue to strengthen competences and knowledge in health and safety,&#8221; stressed Minister Attard.<\/p>\n<p>This investment will enable OHSA to use professional teaching methods and modern methodologies, including the possibility of online learning, flexible schedules to accommodate these enterprises and the self-employed in a way that makes it easy to follow the course without pressure on the work flow. The courses have been designed to offer knowledge in a practical, effective and efficient way.<\/p>\n<p>Minister Attard stressed that prevention remains the most effective form of protection, as every accident avoided continues to protect the dignity of the person and leads to a safer and more productive work environment. He also argued that this commitment to training complements enforcement, not replaces it, as greater awareness leads to better compliance and fairer and more effective enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>OHSA Chief Executive Dr Josianne Cutajar said that &#8220;this project is intended to strengthen health and safety awareness competencies among small and medium-sized enterprises, which amount to more than 140,000 and represent 99% of enterprises in the country. The project also addresses self-employed workers, who are around 46,000, that is, around 15% of the workers in our country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_54907\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54907\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-54907\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195b-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195b-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195b-150x100.jpg 150w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195b.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-54907\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">OHSA Chief Executive Dr Josianne Cutajar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She added that the training increases the awareness of employers and the self-employed who recognise their responsibilities especially in relation to identifying risks, and how to take care of them in the workplace with specific courses for different sectors, including care services, manufacturing, transport, hospitality and recreation, office workers or remote workers, as well as the beauty &amp; wellness sector.<\/p>\n<p>Head of Communications and Business Development within the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, Fabian Demicoli, said that they fully welcomed this initiative. While stressing the importance of good use of time, he stated that they will be encouraging enterprises to take up these free courses.<\/p>\n<p>Application forms for the courses offered by OHSA can be found on the website <a href=\"http:\/\/ohsa.mt\/\">ohsa.mt.<\/a> Applications can be completed and sent to the Authority from today and one can call the Helpline 138 to register their interest in one of the courses offered, and the Authority will contact them back with confirmation of registration and the respective details.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photos (MJR)<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_54906\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"54906\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minister for Justice and Construction Sector Reform, Jonathan Attard, announced the implementation of a Budget 2026 measure, as a new training programme in health and safety at the workplace was launched. With an investment of \u20ac400,000 spread over twenty-four months, this programme will be implemented by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_54906\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"54906\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-54906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-150x100.jpg",150,100,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-80x60.jpg",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-324x300.jpg",324,300,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-100x70.jpg",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-265x198.jpg",265,198,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-324x160.jpg",324,160,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-324x235.jpg",324,235,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-356x220.jpg",356,220,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-356x300.jpg",356,300,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a-450x261.jpg",450,261,true],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PR260195a.jpg",450,300,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Minister for Justice and Construction Sector Reform, Jonathan Attard, announced the implementation of a Budget 2026 measure, as a new training programme in health and safety at the workplace was launched. With an investment of \u20ac400,000 spread over twenty-four months, this programme will be implemented by the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54909,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54906\/revisions\/54909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}