OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY OFFICER

The employment outlook will be Moderate for occupational health and safety specialists (NOC 22232) in Nova Scotia for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

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

Those with several years of related experience working in industry, and possessing the formal credentials, are sought after by employers and safety organizations. On the other hand, positions requiring limited experience tend to see more competition, particularly from new entrants (who may need to be mobile to find work). While workplace safety responsibilities often reside with human resource staff, demand for this occupation in particular should continue to grow, as government, employers and organizations place greater emphasis on workplace safety policies.

Here are some key facts about occupational health and safety specialists in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 1,050 people work in this occupation.
• Occupational health and safety specialists mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other professional, scientific and technical services (NAICS 5414, 5416-5419): 14%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 12%
  • Provincial and territorial public administration (NAICS 912): 11%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 11%
  • Universities (NAICS 6113): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 89% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 11% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 72% of occupational health and safety specialists work all year, while 28% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 44 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 56% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 43% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 20% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 9% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 34% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 24% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 11% compared to 10% for all occupations