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What OSHA says about Career Paths in Safety

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careers in safety

If you’re looking for a rewarding career that allows you to apply many different skills, learn new trades, work with a variety of people and have a seat with upper management, the safety profession might be a perfect fit for you.

Why Choose a Career in Safety?

Professionals who work in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) field have rewarding jobs, creating safe work environments by preventing workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. In fact, several surveys report that job satisfaction in the safety field is high. But choosing this career path isn’t only about the rewards – it’s also a practical decision. Safety careers offer:

  • Job Availability
  • Excellent Salaries
  • Career Advancement
  • Leadership Opportunities

What Jobs are Available in the Safety Industry?

There are several safety positions with different levels of responsibility in a safety career path. Each advancing level typically requires higher levels of experience, education, and knowledge and skills in leadership.

Thinking about a career in safety? Keep reading to learn more about what it takes to be a Safety Consultants, Safety Managers, and Safety Specialist

Safety Consultant

Health and safety consultants develop, maintain, and protect health and safety standards within public and private organizations in accordance with current health and safety legislation.

The typical responsibilities for a safety consultant include developing programs to protect employees, contractors, and the public, write and evaluate policies and procedures and oversee emergency response teams. They evaluate work methods and procedures to ensure compliance with all safety standards.

These professionals are employed by a wide range of public and private sector organizations including:

  • Hospitals
  • Restaurants
  • Construction/Engineering companies
  • Manufactures
  • Large Private Companies

To qualify for this job you must have comprehensive knowledge of OSHA rules and regulations, knowledge of ANSI, NFPA Standards, and DOT regulations plus a strong background in at least one of the following EHS disciplines:

  • Regulatory/Compliance
  • EHS Audits
  • Waste characterization/minimization
  • Air Permitting

The typical education requirements include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction, safety or a related field, professional safety consultant experience and have a Certified Safety Professional designation.

Safety Manager

A safety manager works on job sites and in businesses to prevent accidents. This position is also referred to as a “risk manager” since the workplace or job-site must be assessed for health and safety risks before any preventive or corrective measures can be implemented.

The Safety Manager is responsible for establishing and monitoring systems, policies and procedures to comply with state and federal regulations. This individual is also responsible for facilitating safety meetings, reviewing incidents, and resolving root causes of the risk.

To qualify to be a Safety Manager, one must have strong verbal and written communication skills, be very organized and think analytically, and fully understand OSHA requirements.

The typical education for this position requires a bachelor’s degree in Occupational/Industrial Safety or related field plus experience working with OSHA inspectors. Individuals may need OSHA 500 or be a Certified Health and Safety Technician or Certified Safety Professional.

Safety Specialist

A Safety Specialist is responsible for preventing, reducing, and eliminating harmful situations in the workplace. These individuals may be employed by factories, educational facilities, and health care facilities.

Safety Specialists are responsible for analyzing many types of work environments and work procedures, they design programs to prevent disease or injury to workers and damage to the environment and develop and conduct employee safety and training programs that cover a range of topics such as how to respond in an emergency.

Typical qualifications for this career include:

  • Communicate safety instructions and concerns to employees and management
  • Work with technicians to collect and test samples of possible hazards in the workplace.
  • Must stand on feet for long periods of time and travel regularly.
  • Find solutions to unsafe working conditions and environmental concerns.
  • Ability to use advanced technology and work with complex testing equipment.

To work as a Safety Specialist, you will need a Bachelor’s degree in OSH or a related scientific or technical field, such as engineering, biology or chemistry. Some positions require a master’s degree and internships are a benefit.

Get to work with ResponsAble

If you have experience working as a Safety professional and you are currently looking for ongoing work opportunities in the United States, view our job board here and apply today! If you are an employer looking for quality safety professionals for your next job, learn more about our process here.

Your First Step in Safety: General Labor Job Duties

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general labor job duties

The safety profession is approximately 110,000 safety professionals strong, with employment opportunities across all safety-related roles projected to increase through 2024, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. 

You might have officially decided to start or continue your career in safety, but how do you actually get started? 

Think of general laborer jobs as the entry-level jobs of the industrial safety world. These jobs are a great way to get your foot in the door and gain the experience you need. What can you expect from these types of jobs?

General Labor Job Duties and Responsibilities

Typically, general laborers are responsible for performing generic labor duties as needed to support industrial projects. These duties are to ensure that the job site runs smoothly, safely, and efficiently. Most employers require that general laborers have a valid OSHA Basic Plus and TWIC card, as well. Some jobs might require a confined space permit depending on the job itself.

If you apply to be a general laborer through us, here are some of the duties you can expect: 

  • Physically capable of performing all duties and responsibilities assigned; specifically, lift up to 50 lbs, stand, walk, climb, balance, bend/stoop, and kneel continuously. 
  • Physical and emotional capability to work in confined spaces
  • General housekeeping of work area; assists in maintaining a safe, clean workplace
  • Assists in the operation of equipment or power tools
  • Assist in the inspection of equipment, hoses, connections, pumps and general work area prior to starting any job
  • Performs hazard recognition awareness to remove or identify for removal of all hazards from the workplace
  • Follow direction from superiors

Occasionally, general laborers take up tasks like handling chemicals or removing lead from buildings. In these cases, you might be required to schedule training sessions on working with hazardous materials safely.

How Will You Be Compensated?

We provide competitive wages and career advancement opportunities for all our employees. According to Indeed, laborers in the United States make about an average of $12.83 per hour. Depending on the location and job, you could potentially earn more in addition to overtime.

Start Your Safety Career

Why spend hours sifting through job postings when you already have a pool of opportunities right in front of you? We are currently seeking applicants for a variety of positions so take that first step to launch your safety career, or to move up in your career path. If you are still searching for that perfect opportunity, check on our website regularly or call 225-753-1909 for updated job listings and opportunities. 

Be a Better Employee, Land a Better Job

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It’s no surprise that the global pandemic brought a lot of strain to the majority of job markets. Layoffs and furloughs left many jobless and searching for a way to get back on their feet. With everyone looking for new employment across all kinds of industries, here are ways to make yourself stand out as the best future employee.

The Job Search

Before you get the job, you have to find a way to make recruiters notice you.

Update your resume. Many industrial labor jobs involve specialization, so it is wise to make sure to include information about certifications for special equipment, machinery, vehicles, software applications or devices that are utilized in your industry or field. These can be listed in a separate category on your resume or weaved into different descriptions of your work experiences. It is important that the recruiter knows your qualified for the job you are applying for.

Don’t forget to emphasize your accomplishments. Working within an industry, you may not have access to specific numbers to showcase your growth. Often the inside jobs are about improving production, reducing costs, optimizing processes and saving time so think about your specific actions and how the result changed the bottom line. Include that action and result statement in your work experience section.

Your resume doesn’t have to be an artistic masterpiece, but you want to make sure that it is easy to read, and that important information can be found quickly. List your most recent work experience first with bullet points to describe job responsibilities and key areas of expert industrial knowledge.

The Interview

You’ve got an interview and now what? We all know first impressions can be tough.

Polish your interview skills. In the industrial field, communication is key. Truthfully, no matter the job, communication is always essential, but it is the top priority when safety is involved. Over-communicating is always better than not saying anything at all. Effective communication shows you can verbally problem-solve with other team members. Having strong communication skills will lay the foundation for a successful interview and a successful career.

Show the recruiter what you know. Employers want to hire someone who has an interest and aptitude for the technology involved in their field. Conduct some research prior to the interview so that you have an idea of what you are experienced in from previous jobs, and even if you might not know the technology or equipment used, then show a great desire to learn it. The desire to learn new things can send employers a message that you have long-term potential.   

Show up on time. If you are early, then you are on time. Arriving 15 minutes early to an interview, or a new job, is a good way to show your future employer that you are dependable. Industrial jobs can be large so there is minimal supervision. Supervisors need someone who is accountable and excels on with little oversight. Dependability is something to constantly strive for and is a trait that will carry you far in life and in your career.

On the Job

Your search has come to an end and you landed a new job! Start your first day on the right foot.

Teamwork and kindness go hand-in-hand. People will always want to work with someone who is a team player. Don’t become that employee that no one wants to work with because you can’t learn how to solve a conflict in a respectful and calm manner. Small kindnesses, such as saying “Good morning”, can go a long way. Always be the employee to step up and offer help. These things can go a long way to promote a productive work environment.

Be active and proactive. Do what you say you are going to do and take initiative. Make sure you know yourself and your strengths so you can accurately say when you are going to get things done. One of the most important things you can do as a valuable employee is follow through on work commitments. Get your tasks done in a timely manner, but make sure you aren’t sacrificing the quality of your work just to get things done. If you get your tasks done early, be proactive and take on additional responsibility. The willingness to take initiative shows employers that you are self-motivated and truly care about your work.

A proactive person also stays on top of their industry. Technology and equipment are constantly evolving so it is important to stay on top of what’s new. Knowing what you are doing and having the proper training are of the upmost important to keep the jobsite safe and running smoothly.  

Your perception is everything. If the job you have just landed is temporary or requires work that you don’t particularly like, adopt a positive attitude from the beginning. Looking at only the negatives in your work can decrease your productivity. Adopting an attitude of success ensures that you are actively working toward the goals your boss has set for you. These experiences can be steps toward great career growth.   

Need help finding your next job? ResponsAble has the resources you’ve been looking for. Apply for our open job listings and use some of these helpful tips.

Important Qualities in a Safety Staff Member

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safety staff member

Safety staffing is a niched industry with unique skills and experience to consider. If you’re an employer thinking of hiring through ResponsAble, here is a peek at the qualities we’re looking for when building our growing database of staff. We recruit year-round so that when the time comes, we’ve got an ongoing stream of talent equipped to handle any job that comes your way.

If you’re looking to apply to the ResponsAble team, here are some requirements for becoming a part of our task force. The following are characteristics that our staff pride themselves on. If it is a good fit, you’ll be onboarded and placed through ResponsAble so that you’re prepared for every job that comes your way.

Checklist of RA Safety Staff

  • Interested and available for contingent and project-based hiring.
  • Resourceful and solution-minded, not a roadblock.
  • Ready to hit the ground running after training.
  • Desiring to be in-the-field rather than behind a desk, willing to be available to other workers on the jobsite and support team members in safety needs.
  • Professional demeanor and behavior in the work environment.
  • Organized and prepared for job responsibilities at all times.
  • Leader by example and influence, not authority or position.
  • Experienced in safety work.
  • All staff must have completed:
    • a basic orientation from the Safety Council
    • the TWIC credential
    • a hard skills test based on the position they’ve applied for
    • a behavioral based soft-skills interview

Depending on the job applied for or requested, our staff also are prepared for jobs with these characteristics:

  • Heavy Industrial Labor positions.
  • Able to repeatedly lift and hold heavy weights.
  • Physically and emotionally prepared to work within confined spaces.
  • Understanding nature of the work will often include 10-12 hour shifts 5-7 days a week with exposure to natural elements of temperature and weather.
  • Willing to work night shifts.

The characteristic that sets ResponsAble staff apart is their dedication to represent and work toward safety compliance as a leader and employee. ResponsAble helps you find the right people with the necessary skills to effectively and safely complete the job. Big or small, temporary or permanent. Let’s get the job done. https://responsablestaffing.com/contact-us/

ResponsAble’s Hiring Process

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hiring process

Are you interested in becoming a staffer with ResponsAble? Want to be included in our database of desired workers and experience the consistency that working with our distinct agency can bring? We’re here to tell you where to start!

The RA process from start to finish

Apply

Apply online at ApplyForSafety.com! Each applicant must have a basic orientation from the safety council and TWIC credential to complete the application process. If you’ve got both of those, then go ahead and get started! Qualified applicants will be contacted by a member of the ResponsAble team to schedule an interview at our office.

The Interview

Once at our office each person must take and complete a hard skills test based on the type of position applied for (safety technician, CSA/FW, labor).  If you don’t pass the test the first time, then we’ll offer another date after 30 days where the applicant can come back to re-take the test.

Once the test is complete, we then do a face-to-face interview with each candidate to assess their soft skills using behavioral based questions (tell me about a time you had to stop a job, what was it for and how was it handled; tell me about a time you had to work with someone you didn’t particularly like, how did you encounter this and how did you handle it).

We also track types of work environment each candidate is experienced in (refinery, chemical, construction, nuclear, offshore, etc.) as well as specific facilities/companies they have experience with, along with any certification or education they may have.

Through our assessment of their hard skills and soft skills, we’re able to appropriately qualify a candidate’s true safety knowledge and capability outside of just “safety certifications”. This allows us to match the right candidate to the right job and customer every time.

Paperwork

Once a candidate is qualified and considered eligible for hire, we have the qualified candidate complete all new hire paperwork and begin the onboarding process.

The Database

ResponsAble maintains and manages an ever-growing database of qualified and experienced staff. Once an applicant’s paperwork is completed, they become a part of this incredible group. While we may not have an opportunity on their day of hire that best fits a staff member’s capability, the database ensures that when an opportunity we can place them quickly (we have a lot of opportunities where we’re the last to know and first to show).

We frequently contact eligible candidates within our database whom are not working. We look for opportunities to engage with them and maintain communication and interest/availability status. This is such an important part of our culture that we track/measure how many qualified candidates we engage with as a KPI.

Getting to Work

Once on opportunity is presented to an employee, they then go through the final steps of our onboarding process and job-specific training required by our client. After this step, it’s time to get started on your first job!

Ready to start the hiring process with ResponsAble? We love to talk with applicants and determine their best fit. You can start your application online at ApplyForSafety.com and get the process started!