The Industrial Safety School was founded now at the beginning of the year.
The school is jointly owned by Iðan Education Centre and Rafmennt. The main objective of the school is to promote an increased safety culture in the industry and thereby reduce accidents. The school will offer both education and training, and work is underway for the school to begin operations later this year. The initial focus will be on the construction industry. The number of reported occupational accidents in the construction industry has doubled since 2020, and seven fatal accidents have occurred in the last 5 years. It is crucial to reverse this trend.
Ásdís Gréta Hjálmarsdóttir has been hired as the Leader of the Industrial Safety School, and she started in early February. Ásdís trained as a car mechanic and completed her journeyman's examination in 2007. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Energy and Environmental Engineering from the University of Iceland in 2013. Ásdís has extensive experience in safety, quality, service, and project management. Ásdís completed her apprenticeship at Ræsir ehf. and has worked for companies such as Brimborg and Arctic Adventures. “There is a great need to implement improved safety and a safety culture in the business sector. There are challenging tasks ahead that will be exciting to tackle and to be a part of such an important project,” says Ásdís Gréta Hjálmarsdóttir.
“Around 16,000 people work in building and construction, and the number of employees in the sector has been increasing. We are proud to be behind the Industrial Safety School. This is a positive step towards improving the safety culture and working conditions for employees, as the frequency of accidents and fatalities in the construction industry is unacceptable. Ásdís Gréta, the school's leader, has experience that will be very useful in this important project, both from the industry and from safety and project management,” says Vilborg Helga Harðardóttir, Managing Director of Iðan Education Centre.
“We are extremely pleased that the Industrial Safety School has now been established. We have high expectations for good cooperation with both the business community and public bodies, as there is a great need to join forces to reduce occupational accidents and eliminate fatal accidents in the construction industry. We extend a warm welcome to Ásdís Gréta and look forward to working with her,” says Þór Pálsson, Managing Director of Rafmennt.
For more information about the Industrial Safety School, please contact Ásdís Gréta Hjálmarsdóttir, the school's leader ([email protected]).