Need for Occupational Health and Safety Training opens doors in SVG for Jaric

After doing a defensive driving course at the Russell Auditorium in November 2014, Director of Jaric Environmental and Health Safety Services Limited. Eric Kipps saw a need for his company’s services in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), most notably, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training.

Jaric St Vincent Limited now offers a range of environmentally friendly products and a line of TITAN® ABC Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers and smoke alarms as it continues to expand and diversify.

With that in mind, Kipps founded Jaric St. Vincent Limited (Jaric SVG), and since then the National Safety Council (NSC) master trainer and his company has been working overtime to make OHS in SVG second to none in the region.

“What it was, there was a need for OHS in SVG. That was the basic drive and reason for starting Jaric SVG,” Kipps told SEARCHLIGHT.

He said since they began operating in SVG, his company has been able to increase the awareness of OHS in the workplace and also increase the awareness of issues like harmful chemicals, road safety, and defensive driving.

“That is basically some of our main achievements to date. Not only in the workplace, we were part of the team that drafted the OHS Act. We were able to provide support to the Ministry of Labour in getting the Bill passed into law,” Kipps explained.

Jaric has a full time staff of 10,but because of its engagement in several projects it engages others on an as-needs basis.

The company provides services to several major companies in the country, as well as government agencies and the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF).

“We work in all industries,” Kipps noted, identifying the Port Authority, VINLEC, CWSA, ECGC, Coreas Limited, SVG Distillers, BOSVG, Republic Bank, and several credit unions among clients.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic we diversified, because a lot of companies were significantly hit so we had to be agile. We did some diversifying by introducing new services like industrial hygiene, testing for mould, testing for indoor air quality…we do vector control, and we launched a paper products service including printing and copy paper as part of our services, the Jaric director said.

“We increased our range of services from OHS and into business support services and we now provide several.”

Kipps said while there have been instances of resistance to OHS, most of the country has reacted positively.

“It’s a cultural thing sometimes. While the established organizations would have OHS ingrained in their policies, of course you would see instances of that type of unsafe behaviour when you look at some companies.

“…and while we have been able to impact some of them, we are still fighting to change the culture and introduce OHS among the general population,” Kipps told SEARCHLIGHT, pointing out that safety is not cheap; it is expensive just as eating healthy is.

Kipps said their 10 year anniversary in SVG, is a “fantastic” feeling.

“We are part of the Jaric Group of Companies and we have been around for 26 years in Trinidad and Tobago, and we are now in four countries.

“We are proud that the Vincentian market has embraced Jaric, and we are proud of what we have brought to the country. We have had a significant amount of support and we have trained people and the business is now fully staffed by Vincentians,Kipps noted.

“After 10 years I consider myself as part of the fabric of the country.”