Safety, Health Backers Push Training Funds As NIOSH Paints Bleak Labor Pool Picture

Occupational safety and health advocates are pressing lawmakers to preserve, at the very least, existing funds to pay for training as NIOSH came out with a new report that predicts a wide gap between future employer demand for OSH experts and the availability of qualified professionals. Supporters say the report, issued Thursday (Oct. 20), shows in particular a need to retain funding for NIOSH’s Education and Research Centers (ERCs), which the Obama administration targeted for zero funding in its fiscal 2012 budget request. NIOSH says in its new report that, based on current trends, although e