Workplaces in East Africa and elsewhere are adapting to hotter days, heavier rains and unpredictable disruption, and these shifts reach employees directly through heat illness, injury, displacement and anxiety. At the same time, mental ill-health, burnout and poor working relationships are now recognised as significant causes of lost time. Organisations that manage these risks well protect people, keep operations running and demonstrate duty of care.

This training course joins two fields that are usually separate. The first part covers climate-related hazards: heat exposure, air quality, severe weather, vector-borne disease and the effects of climate events on work organisation. Participants learn to measure and rate exposure, set controls such as shading, scheduling and rest breaks, and write emergency procedures. The second part addresses psychosocial hazards, using the management standards approach and ISO 45003 to identify causes in workload, control, support and organisational change, then to plan interventions and support services. The closing sessions integrate both into one management system with indicators, consultation and review.

Participants work through workplace examples, complete risk assessments with provided tools and build a plan for their own organisation. Discussion is practical, with ample time for exchanging experience between sectors.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the climate-related hazards that affect their workplaces and workforce.
• Assess heat stress exposure and set work-rest, hydration and acclimatisation controls.
• Prepare emergency and business continuity arrangements for floods, storms and disruption.
• Recognise psychosocial hazards and their sources in work design and culture.
• Carry out a psychosocial risk assessment following ISO 45003 principles.
• Design prevention, early support and return-to-work measures for stress and burnout.
• Integrate both risk areas into an occupational health and safety management system.

The course is relevant to those responsible for the safety, health and wellbeing of working people, including:

• Occupational health and safety officers and managers
• Human resource and employee relations practitioners
• Workplace wellbeing and employee assistance coordinators
• Site, plant and facilities managers
• Construction, agriculture and manufacturing supervisors
• Occupational health nurses and clinicians
• Trade union and worker safety representatives
• Sustainability and risk managers

Participants leave with:

• A heat stress assessment worksheet with suggested control measures.
• A weather event response plan outline for their site or organisation.
• A psychosocial risk assessment tool adapted to their workforce.
• A set of wellbeing and early support options with clear referral steps.
• Guidance for supervisors on spotting stress and having supportive conversations.
• An integrated improvement plan with indicators for management review.

The course is practical and discussion-led, using the tools safety and people teams apply at work. Activities include:

• Workplace examples from construction, farming, factories and offices
• Risk assessment templates completed during the sessions
• A table-top emergency exercise on flooding
• Role-play of supportive conversations between supervisors and staff
• Peer review of each participant's improvement plan

Attendance at the sessions and completion of the exercises earns a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion, issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.