Health and safety officer to emergency response coordinator
A health and safety officer already meets 46% of what the emergency response coordinator role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
48/ 100
1 How much of what an emergency response coordinator is expected to do is already part of a health and safety officer’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 emergency response coordinator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An emergency response coordinator role treats 5 of its required skills as things a health and safety officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on environmental risk management systems
- advise on risk management
- educate on emergency management
- perform risk analysis
- test safety strategies
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An emergency response coordinator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a health and safety officer background worth leading with.
- already held educate on emergency management communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on environmental risk management systems information skills
- already held test safety strategies information skills
- already held advise on risk management information skills
- already held pollution prevention engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held health, safety and hygiene legislation services
All 10 carried skills, including the 5 the emergency response coordinator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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.
- still to learn advise on safety improvements required
- still to learn manage emergency evacuation plans required
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
- still to learn estimate damage required
- optional, not held identify risk of flooding optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
- still to learn manage emergency procedures required
- optional, not held develop strategy to solve problems optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with policies optional
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held operational tactics for emergency responses optional
- optional, not held conduct fire safety inspections optional
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an emergency response coordinator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 estimate damage practise this
- 02 advise on safety improvements practise this
- 03 manage emergency evacuation plans practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held advise on environmental risk management systems skill
- already held advise on risk management skill
- already held educate on emergency management skill
- already held perform risk analysis skill
- already held test safety strategies skill
- already held ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held health, safety and hygiene legislation knowledge
- already held pollution prevention knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held handle veterinary emergencies optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held conduct fire safety inspections optional
- optional, not held develop strategy to solve problems optional
- optional, not held educate public on fire safety optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with policies optional
- optional, not held handle veterinary emergencies optional
- optional, not held identify risk of flooding optional
- optional, not held operational tactics for emergency responses optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
28 held skills the emergency response coordinator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role assessment of risks and threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role audit techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate health and safety measures skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
- not needed by the target role conduct workplace audits skill
- not needed by the target role draw up risk assessment skill
- not needed by the target role educate employees on occupational hazards skill
- not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow standards for machinery safety skill
- not needed by the target role identify policy breach skill
- not needed by the target role implement strategic planning skill
- not needed by the target role issue licences skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role make health, safety and environment assessments skill
- not needed by the target role monitor employee's health skill
- not needed by the target role monitor legislation developments skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role occupational health knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform health assessment autonomously skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role personal protective equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide improvement strategies skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held first response optional
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held operational tactics for emergency responses optional
Common questions about this move
Can a health and safety officer become an emergency response coordinator?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A health and safety officer already covers 46% of what an emergency response coordinator is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 5 of which the emergency response coordinator role treats as required.
What skills does a health and safety officer need to become an emergency response coordinator?
4 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is estimate damage.
How hard is the move from health and safety officer to emergency response coordinator?
Its learning distance is 48 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.