Finished my Major Safety Courses.

I'm now done with all my major Safety Courses.  I finished my last major Safety Trainer Course yesterday, EM 385-1-1, 40-hour USACE Safety Course.

I give all credit to God for providing the scholarship and time for me to take all the available major Safety Courses.  I am so grateful and thankful for His Abundant Blessings.  I am thankful to my wife, children, siblings, mom and step-dad, church family, and certain relatives for their encouragement, prayers, understanding, and support, so that I can undertake this endeavor.

I prayed a lot while on this journey.  It seemed a lot of Core classes were out of reach or scheduled months away when I started classes in October 2010 at the GCA Trades Academy.  But, all of a sudden classes opened up and were made available, after I prayed to go full-time.  I didn't have to follow the "Circle of Training" put out by the Trades Academy.  I was given permission to move from part-time student, and go full-time and jump around the circle to finish faster.  I was able to finish all Nine Modules of the Core Curricula in 2 months.   I started in October 2010 and finished December 2010. 

Normally, I'm supposed to wait and finish my Core classes before I start into my Skills classes.  Again, I prayed first, then asked and was given permission to take my Safety classes.  While, I was still taking my Core classes.  I started with Safety Technology in December, finished in mid January.  Then I started Field Safety in late January and finished in mid February.  My classes were backwards.  I was supposed to take Field Safety first, then Safety Technology.  But, it all worked out in the end. 

The same thing happened with the OSHA numbered classes.  In a regulated world, I am supposed to take the OSHA 30-hour training before I take the OSHA 510 or 511 courses.  However, for some reason, I started with the OSHA 511 General Industry Standard Course in December 2010, and took the OSHA 30-hour in January 2011.  But, I wasn't working for a construction company and learned later that the the OSHA 511 didn't have a prerequisite.  The next month in February, I completed the OSHA 501 Trainer for General Industry, followed by OSHA 510 in March, and OSHA 500 in April.  The major OSHA numbered classes fell into place right after the other.  The USACE 40-hour Safety Course followed in late March, and I did the Trainer course this past week.   I completed every course that I participated in. 

In between the Major Courses, I took some minor ones with OSH Solutions.  These were specific topics in the OSHA General Industry and Construction Standards,  but were more in depth.

These are the Courses that I prioritize to take getting into the Safety Industry. 

1. Core Curricula, NCCER
2. Field Safety, NCCER
3. Safety Technology, NCCER
4. OSHA 30-hour Hazard Recognition Course
   
5. OSHA 511 General Industry Standards
6. OSHA 510 Construction Standards
7. NAVFAC 40-hour Safety Course, USACE EM 385-1-1

The first 2 courses can get me a good job as a Site Safety Health Officer (SSHO) with several top notch construction companies on island.  Although, I could have started as a SSHO.  And, get credentialed as a Site Safety Supervisor (STS)  with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP).  I set my career/education goals higher; To become a Safety Manager and Trainer, and credentialed as a  Construction Health Safety Technician (CHST) with BCSP and World Safety Organization (WSO).


These are the Major Trainer Courses a that I prioritized to take to become a safety trainer.  

1. OSHA 501 Trainer Course for General Industry*
2. OSHA 500 Trainer Course for Construction Industry*
3. Instructor Course, NCCER. *
   
4. NAVFAC Trainer Course, USACE EM 385-1-1*

* Prerequisites Required.

Some safety supervisors have stated to me to get as many safety courses and safety trainer courses while I am on Guam Transportation Training Program scholarship.  I did as they suggested.  Now the safety courses, that I have completed, puts me at a greater advantage then my peers who don't have trainer credentials. 

My ultimate goal is to become a Safety Manager credentialed as a Certified Safety Professional and Certified Safety Manager.  I'll have to finish my last two years of college to degree in Tropical Agriculture.  Since, I've already invested 2 years in that degree at the University of Guam.  I might as well finish it.  I will get my Masters in Safety Management.  The second part is the hardest and requires a lot of patience.  I have to have 10 consecutive years as a safety officer.  I've already started that this year as a Safety Instructor for NCCER's Core Curricula at the GCA Trades Academy.  I'm working on my paperwork to get certified to teach Field Safety. 

What am I going to do now?  I'm going into training full-time with OSH Solutions and GCA Trades Academy.  Hopefully soon with Chabot Las Pacitas Community College District.  I'll start taking some minor OSHA numbered classes on a monthly basis.  And, I'll continue building up my company, Matua Consultants, and ranch, Matua Ranch. 


ESTA.