Open-ended respondent comments

How would you describe the current job market for safety and health professionals?

Small percentage of openings

Very competitive, companies are looking for people with skills in H&S and other areas such as project management, continuous improvement, etc.

Strong and growing.

Good current market. However with the average age of Safety Professionals being over 50 – many across the world are set to retire during the next 5-10 years. There will be more opening available.

It’s becoming more of a prevalent job market.

Fair. It all depends on employer perspective as to whether or not a good safety program can be supported as a required good business practice in its core values and mission.

There is a shortage of qualified/certified safety professionals.

I wish it was more competitive. It seems like more people are driven to the safety aspect, which is great but still lacking a few things with the programs and trainings.

Cautiously optimistic. Industry driven by number of building and construction jobs, outside of plant/physical locations.

Very specialized and wanting a lot of experience for little money.

Volatile. Saturated.

The job market is good, but there is not much room for growth/development to move up in an organization from what I have seen. There are jobs but they tend to be entry level positions.

I am in the wind industry and we have a shortage of safety professionals with wind experience.

Seems good for early career individuals, with some opportunities for beginners. More senior positions, such as director, are, as always, not as numerous.

Based on the calls I receive from recruiters I would say that it’s strong. I had a number of people I could have recommended in the past but that is no longer the case. Everyone I know is currently working and not ready to move.

I see many jobs available. Experience of applicants seems to be an issue.

There’s a shortage of qualified, director level safety professionals. I’ve also found that companies are doing more to retain qualified safety personnel and the position is seen as a key resource.

I do believe the market for S&H professionals is quite good. I think there are two key groups looking for S&H professionals besides backfilling positions: 1) those companies looking for new ideas to continuously improve their safety program, and 2) those companies looking to start a safety program within their business.

More employers looking to consultants and contract workers as a means to control payroll and legacy costs; short-term focus on profits at many employers mean safety is an afterthought.

I think more companies are looking at the value of their people (human capital), whether that’s in terms of keeping people safe, or keeping people period (employee retention/engagement). I think the two aspects overlap, but depending upon the company’s industry the focus shifts. For example: Office only work, more on the latter (not a lot of safety hazards in an office environment). Construction or manufacturing, more on the former, but you’ll also want to keep people around if you’re going to invest a lot of time and energy into training them, onboarding them, outfitting them with PPE, etc.

I continue to believe that EHS professionals are well-positioned in today’s economy to remain gainfully employed or to spend less time off between jobs. The economy is booming so it’s up to the individual how hard they want to work. Effort is key, but there appears to be a bright future in the short term for safety professionals.

There are positions available. Most require 3-10 years of experience. Pay is not keeping up with inflation and other professions. Expectations for multi shift work and covering multiple sites are increasing. Extensive travel or short term assignments in other locations appears to be increasing.

I feel that the current job market is moderately strong for EHS professionals. More and more companies are recognizing the value that experienced EHS professionals can provide, and in some areas, the demand for experienced professionals is greater than the supply.

Plenty of job postings for certified CSPs but very little for safety pros who haven’t gotten certified yet.

Strong. There a many job openings as long as you are willing to travel.

Very good, but more education is expected. Many positions in the past looked for some EHS experience, but mostly pulled from manufacturing and engineering. Now many places are having greater respect for training in EHS and the specialty degrees and certifications.

Tough and unappreciated.

It very much depends on your location. Having professionals in the area needed versus the area they want to be appears to be a gap.

There are currently more jobs than there are safety professionals. Unfortunately, many of the current jobs are not bid to support a safety professional with certifications, education and experience. Many of the current open jobs will be tough to fill because they simply do not pay what the safety professional is worth.

If you want to work you can. It may not be the hours you want or the place you want to work but there are plenty of safety jobs available in the United States.

 

What can be done to encourage safety and health professionals to stay longer with their organizations?

Companies need to demonstrate their commitment to going beyond compliance and value the contributions of the H&S professionals in coaching and changing the company culture.

Support from senior leadership in the safety realm.

They could be encouraged to stay within their organizations if there were more incentives, like increased pay or promotions.

Make their safety objectives and work an integral part of the mission.

More manageable schedule in order to maintain continuing education requirements.

Always be searching for new methods to teach others. Listen to what others have to say. Always be on the lookout for new ways to do things that increase safety. Sometimes be Captain Obvious. Sometimes think outside the box. Keep the job fresh by innovating and involving others in developing new strategies.

The organization needs to have a succession plan and to show that safety is truly important through action and not just talk.

Engagement in business partnership and reporting through top operational leadership.

Retirement plans, better benefits, competitive pay, adequate communication.

Have a succession plan. Many companies have one safety person and rely on that person to take care of all things safety. If that person leaves the company the safety efforts have to start over.

Increase resources, such as time for other employees’ involvement, not just money resources. Although increase money resources for safety programs and equipment is needed as well.

Make sure there is good work-life balance and ensure they are being listened to seriously and not taken for granted.

Limit the role to occupational safety. Many times companies add on collateral duties such as environmental, human resources, security, maintenance, shift supervisor, etc., and this overtaxes the individual.

Provide more opportunity for professional development as well an encouraging and providing financial support for achieving professional certifications.

I think a more holistic approach is necessary: engage the work force with the blessings and involvement of the management team in all aspects of safety.

Safety managers should be treated with the same respect as any production driven manager and given equal time and access.

Networking is key because safety and health specialists need to be able to bounce ideas off of one another and/or find a mentor who can help the individual to stick to it.

Visible commitment to safety by others in the organization. EHS professionals shouldn’t be the only people trying to make the workplace safer.

Just as with any other employees, EHS professionals need to feel engaged, and have a strong feeling of trust for their employer. This will minimize turnover.

I believe most people want to know they’re appreciated. If you let people know and make them feel appreciated and their efforts are seen, then I think they’re more likely to stay.

Stand behind the enforced company policies, hold the standard and do not sway from it. Incorporate Safety Professionals into the training aspect for the company and also the mentoring program. I believe that Safety should be a bigger department with broader roles for the Safety Team.

Autonomy and authority to make changes. Most safety changes to production in manufacturing require you to make your case, and we don’t always win the argument.

Within an organization make sure your safety director has an equal seat at the upper management table. 

Trust the Safety Professional.

 

What can be done to attract new people to the profession?

Change the internal safety culture and promote the position as a partnership to organizational growth and success.

Help people see the benefits of this role to any company. Look for ways to include this in college curricular so that people see the benefits even when pursuing degrees in other areas (such as engineering, business administration, etc.).

Associations need to get out into the high schools and technical schools and promote our industry. We need a local grass roots effort. The question is....who will fund such an effort?

It needs to be made relevant and show how it fits into the everyday operation of business.

Speak to the fulfillment of protecting human life through coaching and mentoring leaders and workers. Can be an extremely gratifying job.

Greater communication of what it is and the opportunities available, especially with a focus on what the changed and new role is for a safety professional.

Awareness of the profession in general. For example, there aren’t many colleges and universities that are accredited in many industrial health and safety areas.

Attempt to reach students at the high school level. Attending job fairs or other awareness initiatives to attract students to the safety field.

Have job fairs. Have colleges and universities open more classes geared toward safety. Not just OSHA classes but classes that study why safety is important.

Create a public information system for college graduates and college-aged young adults. Give them the latest in safety & health news, set up job shadowing sessions, Q&A’s.

Salary and benefits. Marketing of role in safety workplace profession and what expectations are from today’s industry.

An understanding/appreciation for the wide variety of skills needed for the job, which can keep it very interesting. Technology, the business world, and politics/government keep changing the realm in which safety professionals’ work.

Internships, and business scholarships hosted by employers v. foundations and professional organizations.

Use social media to show what the HSE profession is.

Publicity...publicize success stories, publicize the importance of the profession, publicize the advantages of the position (involvement with ALL aspects of a company, integral in the short- and long-term success of the company; ability to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

Put an emphasis on recruiting people that seek out a professional education in safety as opposed to bringing someone into a position that has a background in another field like engineering or strictly health. Candidates should have a clear understanding of the education path they need to pursue. 

Education needs to be the driver. We can teach safety, what we cannot teach is passion for our profession. We need young people to understand why we are driven to do what we do for short pay.

Make more 4 year degree programs available, at D1 and D2 colleges. Not just associate degrees at community colleges.

Introduce the career path to students in junior and high schools. Many would like to be in a field that helps people but don’t know there are other options than social work.

The industry could attract new people with advertisements about the types of skills and qualifications necessary as well as types of job duties, most people have no idea what a safety professional does or how they came to be.

 

Going forward, what skills will be most important for safety and health professionals to be hired and promoted?

People skills. Knowledge is great, however really how to develop process and gaining buy-in from Management and employees is getting more and more important. Getting involvement is going to be the most critical element soon, especially with the generation diversity currently in and becoming more the norm in industries.

Prior work experience in a working field related to their oversight. 

An ability to make safety a desirable attribute of the organization. Safety professional need to know how to sell themselves and safety and be skilled at integrating safety and prevention deep into the cellular level of the organization.

People skills are a must as well as actual work experience. A safety pro has to know what it’s like to be on a crew and work on a job site before they will be respected, accepted and effective.

Understanding of current regulatory requirements and changes.

Business acumen. Many safety professionals do not know how to connect with the business. They continue to rely on the "schoolbook" methods and do not know how to adapt to sustain a process.

Prior field experience. Hands on. Not just educated from school. Get your hands dirty before going into safety.

Technology savvy and able to communicate across age gaps. Be able to articulate what safety brings to the table.

The most important skills for an S&H professional is being a good listener and being creative. Employees want to be heard and many times they have procedures to keep from getting hurt, the procedures need to be adjusted to be OSHA compliant. Also employees do not want to listen to a boring webinar, LMS, or speaker. Employees want and interactive hands on training.

Knowledge of not only OSHA regulations but applicable ANSI standards and other industry standards.

Better understanding of environmental issues and what exposure companies have to new laws.

Safety professionals should be equally involved in all aspects of production to make certain that they have all of the information needed to conduct safety training and develop policies that work for the organization to achieve a sustainable program that the production and financial folks can buy into because they see the value, both in human terms and financial terms.

The most important skills that I see are computer skills and presentation skills.

Ability to get up to speed quickly with different industries. Understanding of HR practices and unions. Creativity on how to be resourceful and how to communicate with all generations.

Project Management; Vertical and horizontal communication skills; experience/knowledge of health and safety international standards (ISO 45001, LEAN, Six Sigma).

Multilingual. 

Acquired knowledge of their industry and how to apply that knowledge in a positive and influencing manner.

Soft skills are extremely important, be able to articulate requirements and standards to your team at all levels. Be versed in as many computer skills and tools as you can. Be well rounded and even though you specialize, have basic knowledge of environmental issues, industrial hygiene, emergency response, and occupational safety. Be able to participate in project reviews and add value to let the team know how safety is part of the system at design level and not just an afterthought.

The ability to write, analyze, evaluate, and interpret data and technical information.

Gravitas. Your credentials are all that you have.

Human Understanding – Understand that humans inherently want to do good, so when a mistake is made you can use a teachable moment and build the relationship between Safety and the work force.

Integrity – Always follow through, it can be tough, but you are the backbone of what’s right to do in the organization.