Gen Z vs. OHS: how has the way we learn changed?

OHS training suffers from the same problem. The first day in a new job is almost always a long and boring OHS training session, of which little stays in the memory. So the question is whether training can be run differently, so that participants remember something more than the sound of the trainer's voice?

It is worth starting with the conditions that support concentration. Even before the training begins, it helps to air the room, ensure a comfortable temperature and, if possible, natural daylight. These seemingly minor details affect participants' focus and well-being.

The next step is how the training opens. Instead of going straight into dry facts and the agenda, it is worth starting with something that grabs attention: a shocking statistic, an intriguing question, an interesting prop or a short story. A simple icebreaker at the start also works very well: it relaxes the atmosphere, lets participants get to know each other from the first minutes, lowers tension and opens the group up to what comes next.

The content itself is better split into smaller portions, following the principle of microlearning. Long lecture blocks can be replaced with segments lasting at most 15 minutes, interspersed with a short physical exercise, a meme or a video, which helps keep attention and regularly “resets” participants' concentration.

Just as important is how the knowledge itself is delivered. People remember stories best, not definitions. The substantive material is worth weaving into a narrative that contains a problem, a challenge and its solution, ideally as a real case study participants can relate to. Instead of saying in general terms that “a collision with a forklift is a hazard”, it is worth showing a real description, photo or recording of an actual accident that happened in the company and inviting participants to analyse it together.

It is also worth moving away from the trainer's monologue towards a lively discussion. Asking open questions instead of presenting ready-made facts makes the training more interactive and leads participants to reach conclusions themselves, remembering them better than a recited definition. This effect can be strengthened by giving the group an excerpt from the Labour Code or a regulation and then asking questions they must find the answers to on their own. This turns passive listening into an active search for information that will stay in memory for a long time.

Real equipment engages training participants far more than a description on a slide, because it can be touched, experienced with the senses, checked and tested. When we hand employees personal protective equipment, for example earplugs, safety glasses or protective masks, and show how to use them correctly, the knowledge stays in memory much longer than after a presentation alone.

Showing a real fire extinguisher works in a similar way, with an explanation of the markings and fire classes, and it is also worth practising how to use it, because many employees have never held an extinguisher in their hands. The same goes for opening a first-aid kit in front of the group and going through its contents. Such exercises turn dry theory into a concrete, memorable experience.

Finally, it is worth remembering that people absorb knowledge through different channels, and the greatest effect is possibly achieved by combining visual elements, discussion and practical exercises. Instead of relying on a single channel, it is worth using infographics and videos, discussion and workshops within one training session, because this increases engagement and retention across the whole group.

Introducing these elements into OHS training does not require an organisational revolution or a large budget; a change of approach is enough. Instead of treating training as a formality to be ticked off, it is worth seeing it as the new employee's first real interaction with the company, one that shapes their attitude long after the course ends. If on the very first day we signal to someone that the company cares about their attention, their time and the way they absorb knowledge, we build the foundation of engagement for the coming months of work.

It is also worth remembering that the techniques described, that is the hook at the start, microlearning, storytelling, open questions, props and a variety of formats, are not a one-off measure used only in the first training. It is a methodology that can be applied in every subsequent learning cycle in the company.

Generation Z, which is entering the labour market today, is not an exception requiring special treatment. It is rather a signal that education standards, shaped decades ago, have stopped keeping up with how people actually learn. Ultimately it is about a simple change of priorities, from delivering information to making it memorable. OHS training that engages no one protects no one from an accident; it only protects the company from formally failing in its duty. And that, as we know, is not the same as real safety in the workplace.

OHS is not only initial training. A true safety culture is born in everyday work, not in the training room. That is why it is worth regularly running short educational activities in the form of toolbox talks, that is, 5-minute team conversations before a shift, or a newsletter to the inbox, in which one specific hazard is discussed, a good practice is recalled or a recent event is analysed. This form of employee education fits microlearning perfectly and lets you reinforce knowledge exactly where it is needed: at the machine, in the warehouse, on the construction site. Toolbox talks turn OHS from a one-off “box to tick” into a continuous process.