Become a Health and Safety advisor
Health and safety advisers work to reduce accidents, injury and health problems in the workplace.
How to become a health and safety adviser
You can get into this job through:
• a university course
• an apprenticeship
• training through a professional body
Skills and knowledge
You’ll need:
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to use your initiative
• the ability to work well with others
• persistence and determination
• legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
• knowledge of English language
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• maths knowledge
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
What you’ll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your day-to-day tasks may include:
• developing safety policies and procedures
• advising and training staff on health and safety practices
• making regular inspections
• doing risk assessments
• investigating and recording accidents in the workplace
• working with relevant inspectors and trade unions
Apprenticeship
You can do an advanced apprenticeship as a safety, health and environment technician. You can also complete an environmental health practitioner degree apprenticeship, if you’re going to work mainly in environmental safety.
Entry requirements
You’ll usually need:
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Working environment
• You could work in an office, on a construction site or in an NHS or private hospital.
• Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
• You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
Case Study
A forces friendly employer
Businesses, charities, and public sector organisations of all sizes who wish to support the armed forces community can sign the Armed Forces Covenant. You make your own promises on how you will demonstrate your support.
Scott Mathie and 1st Choice Safety have signed the Covenant and are currently support-ing ex-RAF Regiment gunner Stephen Peake, 46, as he looks to embark on a career in safety.
Steve is using his Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) grants to invest in online courses with Nebosh, including the national general certificate in occupational safety and health, which is a route to membership of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
“My long-term plan is to become an IOSH member,” said Steve. “I think I’ll make a suc-cess of being a safety trainer. I quite like talking. I like standing up and speaking in front of people.
“I am in the process of applying for and paying for courses to get me started. Scott has guided me quite well. I think sometimes we think we’re still in the military. We know our word is our bond and we are fairly reliable with each other. He’s been a good role model, someone I can sound off to. We bounce off each other.”
To find out more about the Armed Forces Covenant, visit www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk
More Information
Professional and industry bodies
The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register has a list of professional bodies offering membership options.
www.oshcr.org/about/#ProfessionalBodies
Careers in health and safety from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (www.rospa.com/occupational-safety/advice/career) and Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (www.oshcr.org/help/knowledge-base/become-a-health-safety-consultant).