Free Suicide Prevention Training for Construction Workers Launched

New digital training aiming to increase awareness and reduce suicide amongst sole traders and self-employed construction workers has launched ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September).

Developed by Mates in Mind, in partnership with The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Baton of Hope, this free suicide prevention training has been designed to address the challenges of construction workers who are often most at risk of mental ill-health and who might otherwise be unable to engage with mental health interventions.

Free Suicide Prevention Training

Recent Mates in Mind research shows that intense workloads, financial problems, poor work-life balance, and pressures on the supply of materials are combining to significantly raise the stress and anxiety felt by self-employed and SME construction workers to severe levels.

The Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment report carried out by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) found nearly two thirds of construction workers regularly experience stress, and half experience anxiety. Most concerningly, nearly a third of construction workers have experienced thoughts of suicide at some point.

The new training, consisting of two modules (suicide awareness and suicide prevention), is part of a comprehensive package aiming to increase mental health literacy, improve help seeking, and end the stigma of mental ill-health.

Being free to access, it is not restricted to those that can afford it, and being digital means the modules can be accessed by any member of the team, anywhere, at any time, via a mobile phone or laptop.

Samantha Downie, Managing Director of Mates in Mind, said: “By training workers to recognise the signs of mental ill-health, as well as when someone might be experiencing thoughts of suicide, in both themselves and those working around them, it will empower workers with the skills and confidence to start conversations and signpost support before someone reaches crisis point.”

The free training can be accessed via the Mates in Mind website.

>> Read more about mental health in the news