What does a Health and Safety Practitioner do?
In the simplest terms, a Health and Safety Practitioner is responsible for ensuring that staff and colleagues commit to working safely. It requires you to have an understanding of Health and Safety legislation as well as a knowledge of your colleague’s roles and responsibilities. Assessments and audits of how people work and the risks that they face are a significant component of the role, as is training people and changing cultures and behaviours across your company.
But no two Health and Safety roles are the same. Some Practitioners are concerned with working practices, others with the maintenance of large buildings. For some, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) and dealing with toxic waste may be the priority. The job really is that varied
What Health and Safety qualifications do I need?
The qualifications you require depend largely on the size of your role, the environment that you’re working in and your own ambition. For many people who are taking on the role as part of their existing job, then a short introduction to Health and Safety Training Course will suffice. There are professional NEBOSH/OSHA/IOSH qualifications available for people who want make Health and Safety more of a specialism.
There are many ways to enter the safety field and advance along a career path. Here are a few routes of entry:
Safety and Health Degrees. A common career path is to obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree in safety and enter the field as a professional. Some may begin with an associate degree in safety, health or the environment or a closely related field.
Safety by Assignment. Many people get involved in safety at various levels because their employer or union assigned them safety responsibility. The assignment may be on a safety committee, plant safety committee, as a collateral duty or part-time assignment, or as a full-time safety person. These assignments often progress in responsibility. Some may start in other roles, such as human resources, with safety as part of their job. The responsibility grows with the effort to improve safety performance and compliance.
Craft-to-Professional. A number of people begin their involvement in safety through a leadership role in their craft or work group. As a supervisor or team leader, they may have responsibility for the safety of others. Interest in advancing safety may lead to a greater safety assignment.
Safety by Experience. Sometimes people get involved in safety because they were part of a significant incident in which they or others were injured or became ill. The experience moves them to pursue safety as a career field. Roles and responsibilities may increase over time
I can send some reading materials
In the simplest terms, a Health and Safety Practitioner is responsible for ensuring that staff and colleagues commit to working safely. It requires you to have an understanding of Health and Safety legislation as well as a knowledge of your colleague’s roles and responsibilities. Assessments and audits of how people work and the risks that they face are a significant component of the role, as is training people and changing cultures and behaviours across your company.
But no two Health and Safety roles are the same. Some Practitioners are concerned with working practices, others with the maintenance of large buildings. For some, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) and dealing with toxic waste may be the priority. The job really is that varied
What Health and Safety qualifications do I need?
The qualifications you require depend largely on the size of your role, the environment that you’re working in and your own ambition. For many people who are taking on the role as part of their existing job, then a short introduction to Health and Safety Training Course will suffice. There are professional NEBOSH/OSHA/IOSH qualifications available for people who want make Health and Safety more of a specialism.
There are many ways to enter the safety field and advance along a career path. Here are a few routes of entry:
Safety and Health Degrees. A common career path is to obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree in safety and enter the field as a professional. Some may begin with an associate degree in safety, health or the environment or a closely related field.
Safety by Assignment. Many people get involved in safety at various levels because their employer or union assigned them safety responsibility. The assignment may be on a safety committee, plant safety committee, as a collateral duty or part-time assignment, or as a full-time safety person. These assignments often progress in responsibility. Some may start in other roles, such as human resources, with safety as part of their job. The responsibility grows with the effort to improve safety performance and compliance.
Craft-to-Professional. A number of people begin their involvement in safety through a leadership role in their craft or work group. As a supervisor or team leader, they may have responsibility for the safety of others. Interest in advancing safety may lead to a greater safety assignment.
Safety by Experience. Sometimes people get involved in safety because they were part of a significant incident in which they or others were injured or became ill. The experience moves them to pursue safety as a career field. Roles and responsibilities may increase over time
I can send some reading materials