Fire safety and first aid training is being offered for free to domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates.
The City Safe Consulting and Training Centre and Umm Al Quwain Civil Defence are seeking to provide 1,000 domestic workers with free training in order for them to be able to better handle emergencies, The National reported.
Maher Qandil, managing director of the center, said that domestic workers are rarely given training on how to respond to emergencies.
“Many parents leave their children with nannies, and being equipped with information on how to deal with, for example, a stove that has caught fire or to be able to save a choking child is very important and can save lives if done properly,” Qandil reported.
The training course will cover first-aid and fire-safety and will be provided in Arabic, English and Urdu. The course will last for three hours. Annie Brown, chief executive of HSS Health and Safety Solutions in Dubai, said that most domestic workers come from countries where proper training before they begin work is not mandatory.
“Having the knowledge and competence to perform effective first aid can prevent a disaster. Having fire-safety knowledge and knowing what to do if a fire breaks out in the home could prevent a catastrophe,” Brown said.