CSA Standards is rolling out nine online training games to help workers handle industrial explosions, train derailments, chemical spills and other emergencies.

The training games are aimed at companies and will be available on the association's website, some for a fee.

In one recent year, 1,055 people died in Canadian workplaces, and employees were forced to take time off the job because of about 315,000 injuries, the association said, citing data from the National Work Injuries Statistics Program and the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada.

The new online games can help reduce workplace injuries, said CSA Standards, a non-profit association that develops standards and helps people learn to apply them.

"These new interactive modules go well beyond the simple transfer of knowledge and engage users in making decisions in the workplace that are linked to real-world standards and safety guidelines," Suzanne Kiraly, the president of CSA Standards, said in a news release.

"From handling hazardous materials to assessing risks to prevent major disasters, preparing workforces with safety and emergency response skills in a virtual environment could mean the difference between life and death on the job."

CSA Standards planned to demonstrate four of the training games in downtown Toronto on Thursday morning.

One game, Response Ready, challenges a trainee to avoid a dangerous explosion at a gas station and in other emergency scenarios, including a toxic train derailment and a factory chemical spill.

In October, CSA Standards will launch a social-networking game called TalentNet: Leveraging Immigrant Talent. It's designed to help managers keep pace with the changing demographics of Canada's workforce by maximizing the skills and talents of their employees and better identifying future business leaders, the association said.