Health and safety adviser: Employers and vacancy sources

Health and safety advisers are becoming more common as organisations increasingly adopt risk assessment strategies. Although traditionally associated with industrial, processing and manufacturing sites, health and safety officers may also be employed by hotel and restaurant chains, large companies with responsibility for many office workers, hospitals, companies involved in the transport network, local authorities and national government organisations, universities and colleges.

The most common areas of employment for health and safety advisers are:

• local government;
• construction;
• education and training;
• engineering;
• chemicals and allied industries;
• hospitals and clinics;
• the food, drink and tobacco industries;
• oil and natural gas;
• transport;
• telecommunications.

Opportunities also exist for work as consultants specialising in supporting small organisations or giving specialist advice.

Further opportunities for qualified health and safety professionals are emerging out of tighter legislative controls and increased litigation by victims of accidents in the workplace. There will always be new challenges in occupational safety and health.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP)
• Principal People
• Health and Safety Jobs
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• Local and national press.

If you are seeking work as a health and safety professional, you should also use the websites, journals and publications of the industry you are interested in, e.g. for the health sector, see NHS Careers .

Larger organisations and multinational companies may advertise directly on their own websites and some recruitment agencies also handle vacancies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and cover letters and interviews.