How to Kickstart your Career in Health and Safety

Whether you’re interested in a job as a health and safety adviser, manager or coordinator, knowing how to land yourself a role like this can be tricky. If you’re keen to embark on a career in this sector but you’re struggling to get started, there is help at hand.

In this blog, we look at some of the requirements you will need to meet in order to become a health and safety professional.

Occupational health and safety professional

Get qualified

To ensure that you’re ready to begin a career in health and safety, it’s important that you’re suitably qualified. There are a whole range of different courses you can enroll on, so it pays to do your research to establish which one you’ll need to take in order to gain the appropriate qualifications.

You shouldn’t struggle to achieve your qualifications and there are a host of organisations that offer you the chance to gain your certifications on a schedule that suits you. For example, training specialist Sheilds offers health and safety qualifications which can be completed either in a classroom setting or online. So if your lifestyle makes it difficult for you to attend sessions in person, you could opt for long-distance learning for ease and convenience.

Do some work experience

So that your CV stands out above the rest, you may want to consider gaining some work experience. If you apply for a role with even the minimum amount of practical experience in health and safety, an employer is much more likely to favour you over a candidate who has no experience at all.

Whether you take up an internship or involve yourself in shadowing a professional while they work, experience like this should stand you in better stead of eventually securing yourself your ideal position. Just make sure you present it well in the CV.

Staff consulting with doctor

Evaluate your qualities

In order to make it in the health and safety industry, there are many qualities you should have. So before you set your heart on this career path, it could help to make sure your personality is suited to the job. For example, organisational skills and a keen eye for detail are crucial, and you’ll also need to be good when it comes to solving problems and thinking logically. Additionally, you should be a confident communicator, both verbally and on paper.

Due to the nature of the job, you’ll also need to be computer literate and you may need a good level of physical fitness. If you’re positive that you’re the perfect person for the job, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to excel in a health and safety role.

Conclusion

Through gaining the relevant qualifications and work experience, and evaluating your skills and qualities, you should find that you’re in a good position to begin your career in health and safety.