RecordMove

Environmental health inspector to health and safety inspector

An environmental health inspector already meets 22% of what the health and safety inspector role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From environmental health inspector

Distant match

To health and safety inspector

5 You already bring

11 Still to learn

29 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.8/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a health and safety inspector is expected to do is already part of an environmental health inspector’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the health and safety inspector role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A health and safety inspector role treats 4 of its required skills as things an environmental health inspector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

audit techniques
maintain relationships with government agencies
present reports
write inspection reports

What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A health and safety inspector role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an environmental health inspector background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held occupational health services
already held audit techniques business, administration and law
already held maintain relationships with government agencies communication, collaboration and creativity
already held write inspection reports communication, collaboration and creativity
already held present reports communication, collaboration and creativity

All 5 carried skills, including the 4 the health and safety inspector role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 24 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 information skills 5 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn monitor employee's health required
still to learn monitor organisation climate required
still to learn conduct workplace audits required
still to learn gather feedback from employees required
still to learn inspect government policy compliance required

optional, not held monitor company policy optional

02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 6 supplementary

still to learn advise on government policy compliance required
still to learn protect employee rights required

optional, not held advise on conflict management optional
optional, not held advise on organisational culture optional
optional, not held apply conflict management optional
optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
optional, not held implement strategic planning optional
optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional

03 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn employment law required
still to learn personnel management required

optional, not held corporate law optional

04 services 1 required

still to learn health and safety in the workplace required

05 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required

still to learn government policy implementation required

06 management skills 3 supplementary

optional, not held identify policy breach optional
optional, not held set inclusion policies optional
optional, not held manage government policy implementation optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a health and safety inspector role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 5 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held audit techniques knowledge
already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
already held present reports skill
already held write inspection reports skill
already held occupational health knowledge

The 1 learning area not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 assisting and caring 2 supplementary

optional, not held promote inclusion optional
optional, not held respond to enquiries optional

13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held identify policy breach optional
optional, not held set inclusion policies optional
optional, not held advise on conflict management optional
optional, not held advise on organisational culture optional
optional, not held apply conflict management optional
optional, not held corporate law optional
optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
optional, not held implement strategic planning optional
optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
optional, not held manage government policy implementation optional
optional, not held monitor company policy optional
optional, not held promote inclusion optional
optional, not held respond to enquiries optional

32 held skills the health and safety inspector role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role address public health issues skill
not needed by the target role analyse health problems within a given community skill
not needed by the target role biology knowledge
not needed by the target role check methods knowledge
not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
not needed by the target role conduct educational activities skill
not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys skill
not needed by the target role consumer protection knowledge
not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
not needed by the target role develop environmental policy skill
not needed by the target role enforce sanitation procedures skill
not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
not needed by the target role environmental engineering knowledge
not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
not needed by the target role foodborne diseases knowledge
not needed by the target role hazardous waste storage knowledge
not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
not needed by the target role monitor legislation developments skill
not needed by the target role percolation knowledge
not needed by the target role perform environmental investigations skill
not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
not needed by the target role pests and diseases knowledge
not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
not needed by the target role promote health and safety skill
not needed by the target role provide advice on breaches of regulation skill
not needed by the target role provide improvement strategies skill
not needed by the target role provide testimony in court hearings skill
not needed by the target role public health knowledge
not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill

5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn employment law required
still to learn government policy implementation required
still to learn health and safety in the workplace required
still to learn personnel management required
optional, not held corporate law optional

Index

Other moves recorded from environmental health inspector

Full index of moves from environmental health inspector

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an environmental health inspector become a health and safety inspector?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An environmental health inspector already covers 22% of what a health and safety inspector is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 4 of which the health and safety inspector role treats as required.

What skills does an environmental health inspector need to become a health and safety inspector?

11 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is monitor employee's health.

How hard is the move from environmental health inspector to health and safety inspector?

Its learning distance is 71.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.