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Occupational health and safety specialist: what the job actually is

Finding what could hurt a worker before it does, then getting a workplace to fix it, usually with a clipboard and a polite voice.

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Occupational health and safety specialist: quick facts

Occupational health and safety specialist salary in Ontario: the median pay is $38.00 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years.

Median pay in Ontario
$38.00 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$22.00 to $55.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
13,200
Usually needs
Usually a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 22232. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Job Bank describes leading and participating in workplace audits and investigations of safety concerns, and conducting inspections to verify that equipment and processes pose no hazards.
  • The other listed duties are creating and running health and safety programmes with policies and training, enforcing compliance with regulations through appropriate procedures, and educating employers, workers and the public.
  • Job titles in the group include health and safety officer, safety consultant, health and safety inspector, industrial hygiene inspector, safety supervisor and mine safety inspector.
  • Job Bank says these specialists work throughout the public and private sectors, and its Ontario text names public administration, consulting companies, electric power generation, construction and manufacturing as notable employers.
  • A real part of the job is convincing people. The finding is the easy part. Getting a supervisor who is behind schedule to stop and fix it is the job.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:30 — Read last night's incident log before anyone asks about it.
  2. 8:00 — Walk the floor with hard hat, glasses and boots. You are looking for the thing everyone has stopped noticing.
  3. 9:15 — A guard missing from a machine. You tell the supervisor, show them, and ask when it will be fixed and by whom.
  4. 10:30 — Investigation meeting about a near miss. The aim is to find out why it happened, not who to blame, and some people in the room have not been told that.
  5. 12:00 — Lunch, and a phone call from a worker who is not sure they should say something about a hazard.
  6. 13:00 — Update a procedure and prepare a toolbox talk. It has to be short and clear, or nobody will remember it.
  7. 14:30 — Training session for new workers on the basics of workplace hazards and their rights.
  8. 15:45 — Write up the inspection. Dates, photographs, corrective actions, owners and deadlines.
  9. 16:30 — A call from a manager about whether a production deadline makes something optional. It does not.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You notice what could go wrong and it bothers you until it is fixed.
  • You like a job that mixes walking around real workplaces with writing it down properly.
  • You can say a difficult thing to someone older or more senior without making an enemy.
  • You like rules and regulations and finding out what they mean in a real room.
  • You want to see a lot of different workplaces and industries.
You may hate this if
  • You dislike being the person who says no. Part of the job is slowing things down.
  • You find paperwork dull. Audits, inspection reports and corrective-action tracking are a large share of the week.
  • You hate being blamed. When something goes wrong, you are one of the first people asked what you saw.
  • You do not want to wear a hard hat and boots in a loud place. Job Bank lists inspections of equipment and processes, which means being on site.
  • You cannot cope with serious incidents. Investigating injuries is part of the work.
  • You want your authority to be clear. In many roles you advise and the line managers decide.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. A diploma or degree in occupational health and safety

    Job Bank says a bachelor's degree or college diploma in occupational health and safety is usually required. Ontario colleges offer programmes in this area, so search the ontariocolleges.ca programme list for the exact credential and length at each school.

  2. No mandatory licence, but a designation matters

    Job Bank says the occupation is not regulated in Canada, so licensing is voluntary. It says certification through the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) may be required. BCRSP's eligibility page says applicants need a bachelor's degree in any field or a 2-year diploma or certificate in occupational health and safety or equivalent, 48 months of professional-level OHS experience obtained within the last 72 months, and a mandatory examination.

  3. Know the Ontario training everyone has to do

    ontario.ca says workers covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act must complete health and safety awareness training. It also says joint health and safety committees need members certified by the Chief Prevention Officer, with Part One a minimum of 19.5 hours and Part Two a minimum of 13 hours. These are things you will teach about or help organise, not the same as the CRSP.

  4. Get experience first

    Because the CRSP asks for years of professional OHS experience, most people begin in a coordinator or assistant role, or in a trade or industry where they see the hazards first-hand. We could not read an official page on typical entry roles, so ask an employer what they look for.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Occupational health and safety specialists: requirements in Ontario · NOC 2021 — Unit group 22232 profile · BCRSP — CRSP eligibility criteria · Ontario — Worker health and safety awareness training · Ontario — JHSC certification training programme standard · Job Bank — Occupational health and safety specialists: Ontario wage report

The money

Occupational health and safety specialist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$22.00
Low (hourly)
$38.00
Median (hourly)
$55.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 22232. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Occupational health and safety specialist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Ongoing concerns related to workplace safety
  • Regulatory inspection requirements

Who hires for it

  • A variety of industries, but notably in public administration, consulting companies, electric power generation, construction, and manufacturing
13,200
people work in this job in Ontario
39%
are women (48% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Occupational health and safety specialists job prospects in Ontario (NOC 22232). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take your school's health and safety training seriously, and in a shop or lab class, notice who checks the guards and the eyewash station.
  • Ask about co-op and about the safety training students receive before a placement. It is the real thing, at a smaller scale.
  • Look at the hazards in a part-time job you or a friend has. Where would an inspector start?
  • Take sciences and maths that keep a college or university route open.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Run a hazard walk of a place you know

About 60 minutes
  1. Pick somewhere you spend time: your kitchen, a school shop, a workplace of a family member who agrees, or a sports facility.
  2. Walk through slowly with a notebook and write down everything that could hurt someone: loose cords, wet floors, blocked exits, heavy things up high.
  3. Rank them by how likely and how serious, then write one sentence that tells someone how to fix each of the top three.
  4. Show the list to the person in charge, kindly, and watch how they react.

What it tells you. If you enjoyed spotting the problems and found the 'how do I get them to fix it' part interesting, the core of the job will suit you. If the reaction annoyed you or you hated telling someone what was wrong, notice that, because persuading people is as large a part of this job as finding the hazards.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How much of your week is on site and how much is writing reports?”
  2. “How do you get a manager who is behind schedule to fix a hazard?”
  3. “Did you need the CRSP, and what did your employer actually ask for?”
  4. “What was the most serious thing you have had to investigate, in general terms?”
  5. “Which industries do you think are the best to start in?”
  6. “What do you wish you had known about the job before you took it?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, as a consultant. Job Bank lists safety consultant among the titles, and consulting companies are a notable employer in Ontario. It takes years of experience and a reputation first, because clients are buying your judgement and your name goes on the report.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an occupational health and safety specialist make in Ontario?

The median pay for an occupational health and safety specialist in Ontario is $38.00 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $22.00 to $55.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an occupational health and safety specialist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an occupational health and safety specialist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years. The usual route in Ontario, in order: A diploma or degree in occupational health and safety; No mandatory licence, but a designation matters; Know the Ontario training everyone has to do.

Where does an occupational health and safety specialist work in Ontario?

A variety of industries, but notably in public administration, consulting companies, electric power generation, construction, and manufacturing. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an occupational health and safety specialist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 13,200 people working in this job in Ontario. 39% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.