Occupational Health and Safety

Often safety from fatal disasters at workplaces is overlooked. Natural calamities or sudden accidents can potentially cause barbaric losses. It is par human abilities to completely prevent them from happening but with appropriate preventive measures, we can surely limit the damage that can occur. There is a specialised area concerned with securing organisational spaces from natural or man-made disasters which is referred to Occupational Health and Safety. If you want to start your career in this unique field and bring awareness amongst workplaces regarding such incidents, here is a blog which aims to guide you about how to begin your career in the field.  

Related Read: How to Become a Safety Officer?

Understanding Occupational Health and Safety

To comprehend in simple terms, Occupational Health and Safety focuses on facilitating the prevention and security of workplaces from various kinds of hazards. Be it health-related issues such as respiratory and circulatory ailments, stress-related problems, etc. or disasters and accidents, it ensures the well-being and health of the workers in a certain space. It can encompass natural and man-made calamities, healthcare concerns, or even employment and working conditions like salary, organisational policies, protection provisions, etc.

Must Read: Career in Health and Physical Education

Occupational Health and Safety Courses

To equip students with the requisite skills and knowledge in this domain, there are various courses available across the globe. These programs are offered at different levels so that students with flexible backgrounds can fit in. To gain a degree or diploma in this field, students can choose from some of the top-notch courses below.

Education Level	Courses
Diploma	Diploma in Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist Assistant  Diploma of Work, Health and Safety  Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety
Bachelor’s	Bachelor of Aviation/BSC Occupational Safety and Health Bachelor of Occupational Therapist Assistant  BSc in Aerospace and Occupational Safety BSc in Healthcare Engineering Technology and Management Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational and Public Health
Master’s	MSc/Master of Philosophy in Occupational Health  Master of Occupational Health and Safety Science  MSc Occupational Safety, Health and Wellbeing  Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health
Doctoral	PhD in Occupational Health, Psychology and Management

Related Read: Career in Aerospace Medicine

Entry Requisites 

To apply for a degree or diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, candidates must have the usual formal schooling of 10+2 with the specified cut-off marks by the institution. Further, to study this program at an international institution, you have to qualify the English language proficiency tests like IELTS, TOEFL etc. Students are also required to submit Letters of Recommendation (LOR) and Statement of Purpose (SOP). These are some general eligibility criteria but aspirants are advised to check the particular details on the official website of the university.    

Top Universities 

For the ones aspiring to explore a certain field of study, selecting a university for their dream course becomes a crucial step. Academic institutions possess the potential to provide transformative platforms to establish your career in your chosen domain. For Occupational Health and Safety, we have listed down some of the leading universities around the world that you can choose from:

Name of University	QS World University Rankings 2023
Edith Cowan University	601-650
University of Birmingham	91
The University of Queensland	50
University of Nottingham	114
Cardiff Metropolitan University	1001-1200
Madonna University	–
University of Strathclyde	325
Staffordshire University	–
University of Leicester	279
University of Malaya	–

Duties under Occupational Health and Safety

Once you get equipped with the skills and knowledge of an Occupational Health and Safety professional, you can explore a wide range of opportunities in different sectors. There are an array of diverse roles and job profiles available in the sectors which students can choose from. Regardless of the level of work profile, some of the duties and responsibilities remain to be same. If you imagine yourself in this role, here are some of the responsibilities which you will be expected to handle: 

• Monitoring the jeopardy situations in the office;
• Segregate the toxic substances present in the workplace;
• Analyse the infrastructure of the office and make it up to mark according to the  set rules and regulations of the government in the regulatory acts;
• Conducting mock drills at regular intervals to make the workforce disaster-ready. 

Occupational Health and Safety: Career Scope

The above-mentioned roles and responsibilities are managed by the individuals appointed in the profiles like: 

• OHS Inspector/ Specialist
• Occupational Health Practitioner 
• Environmental Protection Officer 
• Industrial Hygienist 
• Compliance Officer
• Wellness Specialist 

Also Read: MBA In Healthcare

Occupational Health and Safety: Types of Employers

Some of the main employers of specialists from OHS are mentioned below.

• Local Health Departments
• Government Agencies
• Poison Control Centers
• Environmental Consulting Firms
• State Health Departments
• Other State Agencies
• Corporations
• Research Centers
• Colleges and Universities

FAQs

Thus, we hope that through this blog, you are now familiarised about what a field like Occupational health and safety entails. If you are aspiring to study a degree or diploma in this field and don’t know which one to opt for, reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu and we will help you find a suitable program and university combination that suits your interests and aspirations thus guiding you towards a rewarding career in this domain.