Falls, trips and slips: three most injury-prone industries for young workers

From falls to slips and being hit by moving objects, more of Geelong’s young people are reporting workplace injuries.

Gordon TAFE plumbing apprentices Bronte Tipping, Dylan Blizzard and Zachary Caserta and the new Worksafe mascot ‘Umm’. Picture: Alison Wynd,

More young Geelong workers are reporting injuries acquired on the job, with those employed in construction most likely to get hurt, new WorkSafe data shows.

In 2023 WorkSafe accepted 171 serious injury claims from young workers under 25 across Greater Geelong, Surf Coast and the Bellarine.

The number is a steep increase from 135 in 2022, and 144 in 2021.

According to WorkSafe, in 2023 a quarter of these young workers were in the construction industry, while retail and healthcare made up 11.3 per cent of accepted claims each.

Manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food services industries followed closely behind, with each representing 10 per cent of claims.

Zach Caserta, who is studying plumbing at The Gordon, is one of many students training to work in Geelong’s building, civil and construction industry.

“I honestly didn’t think about safety before I started studying,” he said.

“I’ve learnt a lot of things like lifting things correctly, what to wear on site and making others safe on the job site, as well as myself.”

According to WorkSafe, 31 per cent of injuries among young workers statewide were reportedly due to being hit by moving objects.

This was followed by 26 per cent due to body stress, and 23 per cent due to falls, trips and slips, and about seven per cent for mental injury.

Gordon TAFE plumbing apprentices Bronte Tipping, Dylan Blizzard and Zachary Caserta and the new Worksafe mascot Umm. Picture: Alison Wynd,

Fellow plumbing student Dylan Blizzard said since starting plumbing his eyes were opened to the seriousness of safety in construction and plumbing.

“I have learnt that safety is not just talking about it when an incident has occurred, it is about stopping them before they happen,” he said.

Plumbing short courses program lead Stuart Callinan works at The Gordon TAFE as an educator within the high-risk department.

Mr Callinan said his mission was to raise the level of respect held for OHS matters within the students day to day work activities to a level OHS deserves.

“OHS is not only the primary focus of our units, it is a fierce passion of mine,” he said.

“To empower young people to be an advocate for their own safety, to constantly contribute to a safe work environment and work within their abilities to not undertake unsafe work practices just to impress others.”

On Wednesday WorkSafe visited The Gordon East Geelong students to discuss workplace safety with students, as part of its second Umm campaign, named for the expression that comes to mind when we’re unsure of what to say or do at work.

Umm is a quirky large orange character featuring in a new series of WorkSafe videos, social media, regional press and digital communications and supported by WorkSafe visits to TAFEs across regional and metropolitan Victoria.

The videos include Umm responding to a range of common unsafe scenarios young workers may face in retail, manufacturing, fast food, hospitality, health care and construction.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor

Originally published as Falls, trips and slips: three most injury-prone industries for young workers