Since 2022, the AM Schools Command/3rd Air Region, in collaboration with the General Office for the Coordination of Accident Prevention and Environmental Protection (UCOPRATA), has initiated a process to integrate training and qualification activities for the main guarantor roles in occupational health and safety into the AM training provision.
This initiative aims to help improve training in this sector. Indeed, in addition to the pre-existing accident-prevention training courses, provided mainly by the Specialised Training and Didactics Office (DIFEFORM) of the General Secretariat of Defence, new training initiatives have been designed, developed and organised at the Air Force Training Institutes, in compliance with sector regulations and the growing needs of the Armed Force. In this way, it has not only been possible to increase the number of trainees involved, but also to better contextualise the training content, tailoring it to the realities of the Armed Force, thanks also to the in-depth study of sample cases directly related to the operational, training and logistical activities of the Italian Air Force.
In particular, during 2023, a pilot scheme was launched that enabled the integration into the curriculum of the Air Force Military Science Institute (ISMA) of three initiatives to support the assurance roles mandated by the Consolidated Law on Occupational Health and Safety.
As part of the Commanders“ Seminar already scheduled for Officers designated for Command positions, the first ”A.M. Employer Course" was conducted. This activity was organised for personnel designated to perform this function within the Armed Force's Enti/Distaccamenti/Reparti (E/D/R) or in Out-of-Area Operations. During the lessons, held at Palazzo Aeronautica in June 2023, over 30 senior officers, together with expert A.M. instructors in the field, addressed the main issues of occupational health and safety management and organisation, risk identification and assessment techniques, and effective methods of communication, training and worker consultation.
Furthermore, still within the scope of compulsory training on health and safety in the workplace, and again under the aegis of the Institute of Air Force Military Sciences, the first “Qualification Course for Managers and Members of the Prevention and Protection Service” has been organised. These professionals hold roles that directly support employers in fulfilling the obligations laid down by sector regulations. In this context, at the A.M. Specialist School in Caserta, 32 service personnel were qualified in November 2023, thanks to the support of military lecturers and teachers who are experts in the field under discussion, identified by UCOPRATA.
Finally, the “Training course on teaching methodologies for trainers on the subject of health and safety at work” was developed, which aims to provide knowledge on elements of communication, behavioural psychology and learning dynamics, to complete the preparation of professionals in the field and enable them to operate as trainers in “health and safety”. The “new trainers” can thus replenish the ranks of the network of training professionals in the specific sector of health and safety, acting as “force multipliers” with a view to increasing the culture on health and safety issues among all Air Force personnel. During 2023, three sessions were held at ISMA, in the months of February, May and November, for a total of 45 military and civilian attendees, 4 of whom came from the Italian Army and the Italian Navy.
Following the successful trial conducted in 2023, it was possible to increase the fulfilment of the growing training requirements expressed by the Armed Force Units, training more than 100 units “in house” in addition to the approximately 270 trained in the DIFEFORM courses. Therefore, for the next year, discussions are already underway to activate additional modules for the courses already included in the ISMA Study Plan, and the possibility of implementing further specialist courses in the Armed Force's training offer regarding the protection of workers' health and safety and the environment is currently being evaluated.
These training measures, in addition to facilitating compliance with statutory obligations regarding health and safety, aim to foster a culture of aviation safety on these issues, in the belief that only through increased involvement and awareness of the blue-suited personnel will it be possible to fully share objectives and responsibilities at all levels and thus achieve the desired full integration of workers' health and safety into the decision-making and operational processes of the Armed Force, preserving and improving the physical, mental and social well-being of human resources and meeting the growing challenges emerging from the contexts in which the Italian Air Force will be called upon to operate.
The General Office for the Coordination of Accident Prevention and Environmental Protection, reporting directly to the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, is tasked with formulating the Armed Force's policy in the areas of occupational health and safety and environmental protection. It also defines the guiding principles in its areas of competence and supports the Commanders/Employers of the Italian Air Force by providing targeted consultancy for the effective application of regulations and sector policy to the activities carried out by the Units.
