How to become a health and safety manager or officer
Official title: Health and safety managers and officers
Also called: Safety man, Ehs manager, Hse manager, Qhse manager, Sheq manager, Sheq officer, Safety worker, Safety adviser, Safety manager, Safety officer, Safety engineer, Safety attendant
Health and safety managers and officers counsel employees to ensure and promote health and safety in the workplace and co-ordinate accident prevention and health and safety measures within an establishment or organisation.
Main tasks
- Inspects workplace areas to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation
- Helps to develop effective health and safety policies and procedures and carries out risk assessments
- Instructs workers in the proper use of protective clothing and safety devices and conducts routine tests on that equipment
- Compiles statistics on accidents and injuries, analyses their causes and makes recommendations to management accordingly
- Maintains contact with those off work due to illness
- Counsels individuals on any personal or domestic problems affecting their work
- Gives talks and distributes information on accident prevention and keeps up to date with the relevant legislation
How to become one
Entrants usually possess a degree or vocational qualification in occupational health and safety; and typically practice at level 6 or sometimes level 7 for more advanced positions.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship (England): Community fire safety advisor (level 3). England. Typically 12 months. Skills England standard ST0593.
- Apprenticeship (England): Fire safety advisor (level 3). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0188.
- Apprenticeship (England): Safety, health and environment technician (level 3). England. Typically 24 months. Skills England standard ST0550.
- University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
- University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £46,444 a year The middle half earn £37,925 to £57,141.
- About 74,600 people work in this job now, and about 78,000 are projected by 2035. (+4.6%)
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Questions people ask
How do I become a health and safety manager or officer?
Entrants usually possess a degree or vocational qualification in occupational health and safety; and typically practice at level 6 or sometimes level 7 for more advanced positions.
How much does a health and safety manager or officer earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £46,444 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £37,925 to £57,141.
Is a health and safety manager or officer a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5% by 2035, from about 74,600 to about 78,000 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a health and safety manager or officer?
Not always. 47% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees; Business & Commerce degrees; Community fire safety advisor (level 3).
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.