Texas Mutual awards $100K to Del Mar College’s safety institute for fifth time
Contributed Article from Elizabeth Christian Public Relations
Texas Mutual Insurance Company is awarding a $100,000 grant to Del Mar College (DMC) to fund the college’s Safety Institute and Transportation Training Services programs, which provide workplace safety courses for community employers, workers and the general public. Courses are offered through Del Mar College’s Continuing Education Workforce Programs and Corporate Services Divisions.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Texas Mutual, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, has given a $100,000 grant to the college to support the Safety Institute.
The support we receive from Texas Mutual allows us to provide much-needed safety training to our local employers and employees. Safety education is an important part of workplace training, and we’re proud to be a part of the solution in addressing workplace hazards as we all work toward creating safer workplaces.
Texas Mutual has awarded $6.6 million in safety education grants since 1999. Del Mar College is one of 10 colleges in Texas that provides safety classes with funding from Texas Mutual.
Participation in the DMC’s Safety Institute has grown significantly since the College initiated the program in 2014. During the first two years, the institute offered 30 courses and trained 264 individuals. In 2017, 910 individuals participated in 74 courses.
Initially, the college began the “Bus Safety First” program through its Transportation Training Services program with the first Texas Mutual grant and then expanded safety training to cover workplace safety with the Safety Institute serving as the umbrella for varied offerings. Provided by the Continuing Education Division, the Safety Institute offers most courses to the general public for free with training ranging from Basic Ergonomics, Developing a Culture of Safety, Hurricane Preparedness for Industry and National Flood Managers Certification to OSHA 10 and 30, OSHA Recordkeeping, Performing an Effective Job Safety Analysis and Process Safety Management, among many other courses.
Workplace safety education has always been and will continue to be a sound investment. We are happy to partner with Texas community colleges to make safety programs available to their communities and available to employees across Texas. These grants and the other safety programs from Texas Mutual demonstrate our commitment to ensuring millions of workers get the education they need to work safely.
The Texas Mutual grant has served as a key resource for the DMC Transportation Training Services program to partner with Coastal Bend employers and emphasize safe driving habits to their employees. Safety driving courses have targeted issues covering defensive driving, avoiding distractions and identifying potential hazards while also utilizing simulators to test drivers’ reactions to unforeseen situations.
Over the past year, the program has partnered with the City of Corpus Christi’s Regional Transportation Authority, Oneta Corporation/Pepsi Cola, US Xpress and the Flour Bluff Independent School District to conduct training for over 300 employees.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with Texas Mutual Insurance to train and spread the word about safety practices that keep our roadways as safe as possible
For more information about Del Mar College’s Safety Institute and the Transportation Training Services program, visit www.delmar.edu/continuing-education/index.html.
About Texas Mutual Insurance Company: Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Company, a policyholder-owned company, is the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance. Texas Mutual provides coverage to 43 percent of the market, representing 70,000 companies, many of which are small businesses. Since 1991, the company has provided a stable, competitively priced source of workers’ comp insurance for Texas employers. Helping employers prevent workplace accidents is an important part of Texas Mutual’s mission.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.