How to become an occupational health and safety professional

Official title: Occupational health and safety professional

Also called: Occupational health professional, Occupational hygiene officer, Occupational hygienist, Occupational safety professional, Environment, Health and Safety Manager, Environment, Health and Safety Specialist, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Specialist, Senior Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Specialist, Ÿ Occupational hygiene officer

Occupational health and safety professional assesses, plans and implements programmes to recognise, monitor and control factors that can potentially affect human health, and ensures that working conditions are safe and healthy. He/she also promotes ergonomic principles within the workplace such as matching furniture, equipment and work activities to the needs of employees in addition to providing education, information, training, and advice on aspects of occupational hygiene and environmental health.

Main tasks

• Developing, implementing and reviewing programmes and policies to promote environmental and occupational health
• Identifying, reporting and documenting hazards, and assessing and controlling risks in the environment and workplace and advising on compliance with relevant law and regulations
• Developing, implementing and monitoring programmes to minimise workplace and environmental pollution involving chemical, physical and biological hazards
• Prescribing methods to prevent, eliminate, control, or reduce the exposure of workers, patients, the public and/or the environment to radiological and other hazards
• Promoting ergonomic principles within the workplace such as matching furniture, equipment and work activities to the needs of employees
• Providing education, information, training, and advice to persons at all levels on aspects of occupational hygiene and environmental health

Ways in

• University: Health & Public Health degrees, Offered by 1 universities in Singapore
• Licence or registration: Where the law requires a workplace to appoint a workplace safety and health officer, that officer must be registered with the Ministry of Manpower and renew the registration. Other safety roles do not need it. Law: Workplace Safety and Health Act 2006. Regulator: Ministry of Manpower (MOM) (https://www.mom.gov.sg).

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $60,000 a year. The middle half earn $39,156 to $87,756 a year.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Environmental officer (public health)
• General dental practitioner
• Specialised dentist
• Pharmacist (patient care)
• Physiotherapist
• Dietitian

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Questions people ask

How do I become an occupational health and safety professional?

Ways in include: Health & Public Health degrees.

How much does an occupational health and safety professional earn in Singapore?

Median full-time pay is $60,000 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $39,156 to $87,756.

Will AI change the work of an occupational health and safety professional?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026