Health & safety managers taking on the environment

New research from NEBOSH has suggested that more than half of health and safety managers are now responsible for managing environmental issues at work.

During April and May of this year NEBOSH (The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) analysed one hundred job adverts for health and safety management roles. Salaries for the positions advertised ranged from £30K to £65K, although several went beyond these amounts with one job attracting an annual salary of £100,000.

Over half (55%) of the advertised positions mentioned responsibility for environmental management. And while the majority of vacancies were for "health and safety managers" or "health and safety advisers," a large proportion of the jobs advertised (42%) included "environmental" within the job titles - such as "Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Manager" and "Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality (HSEQ) Manager."

"We've seen a dramatic change in the role of health and safety manager in the past ten years," said NEBOSH chief executive, Teresa Budworth. "Environmental management has become a key part of the job, and a demand for knowledge of quality and compliance management is beginning to emerge too.

"It's also clear from the salary level of many of these positions that a significant proportion of employers are now recognising the level of professionalism and know-how that's needed to be an effective health, safety and environmental manager."

Of the positions that included responsibilities for environmental management, a quarter (25%) asked for associate membership of IEMA or a NEBOSH Environmental Certificate or Diploma.

Another separate study by NEBOSH recently revealed that 89% of people holding a NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety plan to continue with their studies.

Further information about NEBOSH qualifications, including the National Certificate in Environmental Management and National Diploma in Environmental Management, can be found on the NEBOSH website - www.nebosh.org.uk.