Considering a career as a Safety Officer on a Worksite?
Safety Officers have a very important role in the workplace and they are vital to the success of the company and the wellbeing of all the employees. The Safety Officer is responsible for managing the health and safety of employees, carrying out frequent safety inspections, identifying risks and ensuring that the company meets regulations.
They investigate any complaints which are made about the work environment and provide advice on technical and legal issues. They might also be responsible for presenting information in court when there are any public enquiries relating to injury or death in the workplace. They will provide the company with their expert advice on how to create a safe working environment. Basically, what their role comes down to is keeping people safe when they are in the working environment. Safety Officers work in a variety of industries, including food production, manufacturing, waste, construction and many others.
You could be a Health and Safety officer who works for the Health and Safety Executive or the local government, or you could work for a similar body which has the specific purpose of monitoring compliance with health and safety regulations.
You could also work as a Health and Safety officer within a private organisation, as these roles usually exist within larger institutions such as hospitals, schools and elsewhere in the public sector. This is a great career to get into, as the fact that more and more businesses are beginning to focus seriously on health and safety means that there will be plenty of job openings in the future.
Qualities of a Successful Safety Officer
The ideal qualities for safety officers include communication skills, as they will need to be able to explain problems and suggest how to remedy them in a well-spoken manner. A safety officer will also need to be self-motivated and well-organised as they will need to build and maintain their own records of health and safety inspections. Attention to detail is also important, so that all important hazards will be spotted and regulations will be enforced.
What Training is Required?
If you are planning on going into a career as a safety officer, what type of safety officer training is required for this position?
- Occupational Health and Safety Course Bundle
- Health and safety officer courses for responsible businesses
Most of the time you will be required to have a higher NEBOSH National Diploma or a degree in either occupational safety and health, engineering, chemistry, building, technology or physics. You might begin your career as a health and safety assistant while working in a manufacturing setting or at the local authority. Once you earn the appropriate NEBOSH qualifications you can move on to being a health and safety officer. Don't worry too much if you don't have a degree. There will still be opportunities to work towards a career as a safety officer without a degree, as it is the NEBOSH qualification which is more important.