Virginia Launches Youth Workplace Safety Video Contest
The VOSH Vision contest invites Virginia students and early-career workers to create public service announcements about workplace hazards and reporting unsafe conditions.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Youth
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry launched VOSH Vision: Your Voice. Your Safety., a statewide video contest for young workers. Participants create original public service announcement videos addressing workplace hazards, employee rights, and how to report unsafe conditions.
Why it matters
Young workers can face heightened injury risks because they may be unfamiliar with workplace hazards or reluctant to raise safety concerns. The contest gives them a platform to share safety messages in their own voices.
Cash prizes range from $500 to $3,000 for first-, second- and third-place winners in each division. The high school division is open to Virginia students in grades 9-12, and the early-career division is open to residents within their first five years of full-time employment.
The players
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry
The state agency that oversees workplace safety and employment standards in Virginia, including the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) program that runs the contest.
American Society of Safety Professionals
A professional organization for occupational safety and health practitioners, whose foundation hosts the contest's eligibility rules and submission guidelines.
The details
The contest is a partnership among the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry's VOSH program, the Virginia Department of Education, and the American Society of Safety Professionals, with support from the McElhattan Foundation. Eligibility requirements and submission guidelines are posted on the ASSP Foundation's contest website.
Timeline
Nov. 3, 2026: Contest announced and launched by Virginia DOLI.
Feb. 28, 2027: Submission deadline for the video contest.
Youth Safety Outreach
The contest extends the work of Virginia's Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) program by turning hazard awareness and reporting into a youth-led media project. It builds on the program's existing role as the state's workplace safety regulator by reaching workers at the start of their careers.
Virginia students in grades 9-12 and residents in their first five years of full-time employment can enter the contest with original public service announcement videos. Eligibility rules and submission guidelines are available on the ASSP Foundation's contest website.
The takeaway
Young workers who spot a hazard can speak up through their own media work, and the contest offers cash prizes for doing so. Submissions are due by February 28, 2027.
Further reading
Explore more youth culture coverage for related stories about young people and their communities.
More information
Read the full Virginia workplace safety video contest announcement for eligibility details and submission information.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Occupational Health & Safety.
