But, as awareness of the need for such training has grown, the company CEO Carola Hicks started has received demands for classes provided at their location.

This has meant that their home since 2004 is no longer big enough. So, starting this Saturday, Workplace Safety Group is moving to an office setting in downtown St. Catharines.

Hicks, a former teacher, said moves by the Ministry of Labour to hire more inspectors and growing awareness of the need for safe workplaces has turned hers into a growing industry.

"People are very cognizant that they have to protect their workers," she said.

Despite this, injuries and fatalities on the job are an all-too-common occurrence, she said. While injuries have dropped 27 per cent since 1999, deaths have stubbornly stayed about the same at about 100 across Ontario a year.

"There are far too many accidents that are happening in the workplace," she said.

Actually, she added, the word "accident" is hardly the correct term to describe what is nearly always a preventable injury, a notion the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has been pushing.

And it's not just industrial and agriculture settings which can be dangerous, she said. Offices, where employees can hurt themselves over time by being confined to poorly constructed furniture, need keep to health and safety in mind, she said. In offices where employees often work alone, employers should also make sure proper precautions are in place, such as locking the door.

"Little things like that -- they're all awareness programs," she said, explaining a big part of what Workplace Safety Group does is provide education.

The company moved to its new office at 71 King St. last Saturday and will be holding an open house there on Nov. 26 from 3-6 p.m.

For more information, call 905-688-9429 or visit www.workplacesafetygroup.com.