Développement du comportement préventif au travail chez les élèves en apprentissage d’un métier

Current knowledge indicate that young workers are at high risk of sustaining work-related injuries or illnesses, even if they completed a vocational training. Various explanatory factors, including a lack of training in prevention, are mentioned in scientific literature. In order to optimize preventive interventions carried out upstream of exposure to risks of work-related injuries or illnesses, this study aimed to understand how training contributes to vocational students’ development of preventive behavior at work. The study was carried out according to a mixed research design including both qualitative and quantitative approaches and involved the participation of 11 teachers and 129 students in vocational training. Four specific objectives were pursued: 1) to explore the experience of teachers toward the support of vocational students’ development of preventive behavior at work; 2) to explore factors associated with vocational students’ preventive behavior at work; 3) to design training workshops in support to vocational students’ development of preventive behavior at work; and 4) to measure the effectiveness of these training workshops on vocational students’ development of preventive behavior at work during their studies. Through its results, this study allowed to understand that vocational training contributes in several ways to students’ development of preventive behavior at work. First, teachers play a key role as being role models, sensitizing students to the importance of prevention and teaching them safe working techniques. However, the interpretation of the results of this research allowed to understand that teachers face several daily challenges, including their own lack of prevention training and the limited resources available to them in support to their activities related to the teaching of prevention. Second, research has shown that vocational training supports several factors, to varying degrees, associated with preventive behavior at work. Among others, it appears that the type of prevention training offered to pupils influences the development of preventive behavior at work; with training specific to the occupation to be learned being more effective. Elements related to the culture of curricula and training schools would also contribute to vocational students’ preventive behavior at work. Finally, personal factors, such as a student’s motivation for prevention, should also be taken into account in the understanding of the phenomenon. Finally, this research allowed to design, implement and recognize the effectiveness of training workshops specific to the occupation to be learned in order to support teachers in their roles related to vocational students’ development of preventive behavior at work. This study has led to the creation of concrete pedagogical tools to improve the contribution of vocational training to students’ development of preventive behavior at work. In brief, the study presented in this thesis allowed to draw up a portrait of the reality of vocational training environment with regard to students’ development of preventive behavior at work and to highlight the elements to be improved, while suggesting effective improvement devices.

Keyphrases: preventive behavior, health and safety at work, young workers, professional training