Training & Work Readiness
Work Readiness and Safety Training in Memphis
We do not just place workers. We prepare them. Job seeker workshops are free. Employer sessions are built around the part of safety training that is actually ours to carry.
For employers
Who trains whom, and why it matters
Most staffing vendors will not raise this with you. It is the fastest way to tell whether the vendor understands what they are selling.
Under OSHA's Temporary Worker Initiative, a staffing agency and a host employer are joint employers for safety purposes. Both are responsible for a safe workplace and both can be cited. The split works like this:
| Responsibility | Who carries it |
|---|---|
| General safety and health orientation before placement | Advance Staffing |
| Hazard communication basics and worker rights | Advance Staffing |
| General powered industrial truck instruction | Advance Staffing |
| Site-specific hazard training | Host employer |
| Site-specific equipment training and PPE | Host employer |
| Workplace performance evaluation for equipment operators | Host employer |
| Verifying the other party actually did its part | Both |
Neither party can contract its way out of these duties. What we can do is tell you plainly which half is ours, do it, and confirm with your safety lead that both halves are complete and documented before an associate starts.
Plain language on what we are not. We do not hold OSHA Outreach trainer authorization, and we do not describe our safety orientation as OSHA training, OSHA certification, or OSHA approved. OSHA does not certify companies, and authorization attaches to a named individual trainer. If you need OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 cards for a crew, tell us and we will connect you with an OSHA-authorized trainer rather than implying we are one.
Powered industrial trucks
Forklift training, described accurately
29 CFR 1910.178(l) requires three things before anyone operates a forklift: formal instruction, practical hands-on training, and an evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace. A third party may deliver the first two. The third has to happen on your floor, with your equipment, under your conditions.
What we provide
- Formal instruction covering the truck-related and workplace-related topics in 1910.178(l)(3)
- Practical training and hands-on exercises
- Documentation you can attach to your own 1910.178(l)(6) certification record
- Coordination with your site supervisor on scheduling the workplace evaluation
- Tracking support for the three-year re-evaluation cycle
What stays with you
- The workplace performance evaluation, observed under actual conditions at your site
- The written certification under 1910.178(l)(6)
- Any equipment class or attachment we did not cover
Words we do not use, and why
| Not this | Because |
|---|---|
| OSHA forklift certification | OSHA certifies no operators and issues no forklift credential |
| We certify your operators | Under 1910.178(l)(6) the employer certifies, not the vendor |
| Licensed forklift trainer | No such license exists |
| Fully OSHA compliant training | Compliance depends on your site conditions and your evaluation |
| Card good for 3 years | The three-year rule is the evaluation cycle, not a card |
A vendor who uses those phrases either does not know the standard or is counting on you not knowing it. Neither is who you want training people who operate equipment around your staff.
For job seekers
Free work readiness workshops
Built around what Memphis employers actually screen for. No fee, ever.
Warehouse work readiness
Pace expectations, lifting and ergonomics, scanning and picking systems, PPE, and what a first day on a distribution floor actually looks like.
Safety orientation
Hazard recognition, personal protective equipment, and your rights as a worker, aligned to OSHA general industry standards at 29 CFR 1910.
Interview and job search
How to answer the questions that get asked, how to explain a gap or a record without losing the room, and how to follow up without being a pest.
Attendance and retention
The habits that keep an assignment: shift planning, transportation planning, call-out protocol, and how to raise a problem before it costs you the job.
Resume basics
A one-page resume that works for light industrial hiring, which is not the same thing as a corporate resume.
Forklift readiness
What the standard requires, what the equipment classes mean, and what an employer verifies before putting you on a truck. Preparation, not certification.
Training questions
Who is responsible for safety training for temporary workers?
Both the staffing agency and the host employer. Under OSHA's Temporary Worker Initiative, staffing agencies and host employers are joint employers and both can be cited. The staffing agency is generally responsible for general safety and health training. The host employer is responsible for site-specific training, because only the host knows its equipment, layout, and hazards. Neither party can contract that duty away.
Does Advance Staffing provide OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 cards?
Not at this time. OSHA Outreach authorization attaches to a named individual trainer, not to a company, and we do not currently have an authorized trainer on staff or under contract. We do not describe our safety orientation as OSHA training, OSHA certification, or OSHA approved, because none of those would be accurate.
Can a third party legally train forklift operators?
Yes. 29 CFR 1910.178(l) permits an employer to use an outside trainer for the formal instruction and practical training. What cannot be outsourced is the workplace performance evaluation, which must happen at the worksite under actual working conditions, and the employer's written certification under 1910.178(l)(6).
Is there such a thing as an OSHA forklift certification?
No. There is no OSHA-issued forklift certification or license. Under 1910.178(l)(6) the employer certifies that an operator has been trained and evaluated, and that certification is a written record naming the operator, the training date, the evaluation date, and who performed each. A vendor card is not a substitute for it.
How often must forklift operators be re-evaluated?
At least once every three years under 1910.178(l)(4)(iii), and sooner after an incident or near miss, if unsafe operation is observed, if workplace conditions change, or if the operator is assigned to different equipment.
Are the job seeker workshops really free?
Yes. Job seekers pay Advance Staffing nothing, at any point, for anything.