No one likes to think about suicide, but the statistics tell us a tragic tale. Right now, men working in the built environment are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the male national average, with, on average, 2 construction workers dying by suicide every day in the UK. That’s ten times more suicides than industrial accidents.  What’s more, over a quarter of men (26%) in the sector have experienced suicidal thoughts.

Employers can no longer focus purely on physical health and safety. They must provide effective mental health support, and this starts with investing in suicide prevention training. If we can equip everyone with the knowledge and skills to recognize and respond to suicide risk, we can begin to prevent deaths by suicide.”

This CPD session will give you an insight into the value of suicide awareness training. It will include a look at the industry-specific risk factors, what signs to look out for that someone might be thinking of suicide, and brief but effective tools and resources that could save someone’s life.

Anita says: “One of the misconceptions of suicide prevention training is that it’s about learning how to deliver therapeutic support; that’s the job for trained professionals. Instead, Suicide First Aid training is about empowering people to spot the signs that someone is thinking of suicide, know what to do and say to keep them safe and signpost them to support.

The issues surrounding suicide are multi-faceted; there are many reasons why a person chooses to end their life. However, if we learn how to spot the signs that someone is in distress, we can make a huge difference. Oftentimes, a supportive conversation is the first step to saving a life.”