In a research activity aimed at broadening knowledge, the researchers focused on unforeseen events experienced during the apprenticeships of nine students aged 15 to 17 enrolled in training for a semiskilled trade. These events, which disrupted the trainees’ normal workflow, sometimes resulted in an incident, or risked causing an accident. The researchers wanted to document the strategies used by these nine apprentices when unforeseen events arise. Using video sequences filmed at the beginning and end of the students’ apprenticeships, the researchers were able to determine and classify unforeseen events, their causes, and the strategies used to overcome them. In total, 554 unforeseen events were observed, of which 19% involved occupational health and safety (SST) risks. More than half of the events with the potential to cause an accident were associated with the specific work contexts of three of the nine trainees: a woodworker, a stock handler in a household appliance/electronics store, and a butcher’s helper. All had tasks involving handling heavy loads. To deal with unforeseen events, the apprentices mainly used individual strategies, in that they tried to solve problems themselves, without asking for help from more experienced coworkers.
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