21/12/2022

The Different Types of Health & Safety Careers

It can be difficult to decide your future path - a lot can ride on it, after all - but a career in health and safety could be the right choice for you. There are several types of careers in the health and safety industry that might be a good fit for you and your abilities.

Every business, regardless of its industry, has a legal obligation to safeguard its staff and employees. Many companies will have devoted employees in charge of managing workplace health and safety issues to comply with this requirement. Because of this, it means there will always be a need for health and safety personnel, as well as new career prospects.

In this guide, we’ll take a close look at a few of the different types of health and safety careers out there.

Different Health and Safety Careers

If you’re looking for an exciting career in health and safety, then the good news is that your options are wide-ranging. From public-facing healthcare roles to tackling the environment, let’s take a look at some top picks.

Healthcare Positions

According to the NHS, there are over 350 healthcare careers you could land to kick start your career in the UK. The healthcare system is always searching for suitable people to fill open positions. A healthcare establishment must hire allied healthcare professionals, doctors, nurses or other medical professionals with the necessary skills and abilities to ensure that their patients receive the best and most appropriate care and treatment.

Some of the most common healthcare positions that are essential in the UK include:

• Doctors
• Nurse practitioners, registered nurses, care nurses, clinical nurses
• Allied health professionals
• Health consultants
• Therapists
• Dieticians
• Paramedics
• Dentists
• A career in ambulatory health services

Health and safety advisors could work with healthcare establishments to review and improve the efficiency of healthcare services and their safety policies around the country.

Law Enforcement & Fire Safety Positions

If you choose a career in law enforcement and fire safety, your primary focus will be on protecting and helping others - both in your local community and throughout the country. 

Public health and safety is a huge part of this sector. You’ll find a plethora of health and safety jobs with government agencies, which could vary depending on different government regulations. You could even go into a community service management career.

Fire Safety Officer 

A fire safety officer is responsible for assessing an organisation’s buildings to evaluate whether or not they are compliant with fire safety and prevention laws. They also have to ensure that all people within a business building or environment are as safe as possible from the risk of a fire.

Essentially, you'll ensure that all the systems within an organisation or business are secure, that the fire protection equipment is in good working order, and that the fire doors and emergency exits are of the highest standard.

Fire Risk Assessor

You will identify fire risks and hazards as a fire risk assessor, keep track of your findings, and offer advice on fire protection. You'll analyse, eliminate, and reduce the dangers, as well as identify those who are at risk.

Health and Safety Advisor in the Police

As a health and safety advisor, you will be expected to support management as they conduct accident investigations and review risk assessments for new construction, existing properties, and renovation plans.

Additionally, you'll assist in maintaining accurate written and electronic records on every contact, as well as maintaining proper information systems on subjects like criminal and civil law. 

Environmental Positions

Those who are interested in a career in environmental health and safety have a variety of career opportunities. The goal of environmental health and safety is to conserve and preserve the environment, while also enhancing environmental elements that have an impact on community health and safety, preventing accidents, and reporting unsafe or dangerous conditions.

These roles often require a higher level of experience and, in terms of higher education levels, a higher level degree; they are often graduate-level careers.

Environmental Health Officer

As an environmental health officer, you’ll have the responsibility of observing, tracking and enforcing health and hygiene laws. Additionally, an environmental health officer must carry out investigations whenever there is a problem, such as when there is pollution, toxic contamination, and more.

Health and Safety Engineer

Health and safety engineers develop policies and put systems in place to protect people and property from illness, damage, and devastation. Engineering systems and health and safety experts are combined to ensure that products won't hurt people or property when they are sold to and used by consumers. You will need to know about environmental science and natural sciences.

If this doesn't tempt you, you could consider becoming an environmental technician as technical services are in high demand.

Miscellaneous Health & Safety Positions

As is now quite clear, the field of health and safety is very broad and there are many opportunities career-wise. Often, the question to consider is what level of responsibility you aim to acquire and in what capacity - for example, do you want a more hands-on and public-related role such as working in a hospital or do you want something more consultative and corporate?

Here are two of the most common miscellaneous options.

Health and Safety Advisor

When it comes to health and safety, every workplace needs to have access to at least one health and safety expert with some knowledge of the topic. Your first step to becoming a reputable health and safety expert at your company could be to start by working as the go-to source for guidance on health and safety.

As a health and safety advisor, some of the common daily duties can consist of writing reports, investigating accidents from a health and safety perspective, monitoring accident records, creating new health and safety policies, and examining health and safety practices. 

Health and Safety Manager

A health and safety manager's primary responsibility is to provide guidance and direction for the business's health and safety. You'll be in charge of not just monitoring employee safety, but also ensuring that their workplaces abide by all health and safety regulations and requirements.

Your day-to-day duties and responsibilities could consist of regulating site inspections and audits, planning and conducting risk assessments, providing training for employees on health and safety practices, and developing health and safety plans to enhance the overall safety and performance of a business. 

Expert Health and Safety Advice and Training with SMS Europe

Here at SMS Europe, we are professional health and safety consultants who have been providing expert advice and training in the industry for 25 years. All of our customers receive tailored, personal health and safety guidance from us. In addition to this, we also provide a variety of health and safety training courses that can be held at your location or another.

To find out more about how we can help you with all things health and safety related or to book one of our training courses, don’t hesitate to get in touch today. 

To find out about the career opportunities at SMS Europe, visit our Careers page and kick-start your career in health and safety today!