Ms Cleo Varianou-Mikellidou
Research Associate, Health & Safety Consultant,
Cyprus Safety & Health Association
T: +357 99 383781
E: [email protected]
Cleo Varianou Mikellidou, PhD Candidate, Research Associate has a BSc in Physics (University of Ioannina) and
a MSc in Safety, Health and Environment (Salford University). Currently, Cleo is a PhD candidate in
Occupational Safety & Health at European University Cyprus. Her research interests focus on the risks from
age-related changes and the application of the occupational health and safety management systems. Cleo has
worked as a Health and Safety Consultant for six years. She has extensive experience in training, advising and
consulting companies on how to maintain a safe working environment applying risk assessments, how to
adhere to Health and Safety legislation, and how to gain certification according to the International standards
ISO9001, OHSAS18001, EMAS, and ISO 14001. Cleo has experience in risk assessment and is a licensed risk
assessor from the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance. She has also been involved in European projects
such as:
• OIRA (Online Interactive Risk Assessment) for education sector in collaboration with the Cyprus Safety &
Health Association and Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance. This tool aims to help identify and assess the
risks to which students and teachers are exposed in the educational establishments. Questions were grouped
by subject and provide advice for improvement.
• H2020 – EU CIRCLE: a pan European framework for strenghtening Critical Infrastructure resilience to Climate
Change.
"Ageing workforce in the Oil & Gas industry"
In the last decades, humanity experiences an increasing demographic change. Ageing of the population is
directly connected with ageing of the workforce. The proportion of older people is growing, while fewer young
people enter the labour market. The study of European University of Cyprus in collaboration with Cyprus
Health and Safety Association and the Department of Labour Inspection, seeks to identify the possible
relationships between age, work and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the workforce of Cyprus. Some
of the main elements of the ageing management have been used to enhance the Plan – Do – Check – Act (P-D-
C-A) approach of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS). Strategies to minimise age
related issues and increase awareness especially in high demanding jobs such as in the oil & gas field, should
be designed and adopted at the early stages of working life and continue until retirement. This is a win – win
situation where, by reducing risk factors of employees, the rate of occupational accidents and occupational
diseases decreases thus, lowering costs for employers. The study aims to understand among others: whether
employers consider worker’s age when they conduct a Risk Assessment (RA); the level of employer’s
awareness of the changes that older workers are facing and whether they are willing to take action; whether
companies have a recovery plan when an older worker is back to work after a long sick leave due to an
occupational disease and whether there is a correlation between ageing and occupational accidents.