The basics of starting an OHS career in Canada's smallest territory
COS has decided to take a look at how safety careers compare across provinces. Over the next few weeks we shall be covering each province and territory to see how each stack up when it comes to factors like salary, education and designations.
We previously covered OHS careers in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada and Quebec. In this article, we shall be taking a look at how to build a safety career in the Yukon.
Requirements: As with the previously explored provinces, those wishing to build a career in safety would need to have some form of post-secondary education in a related field. After that, requirements may differ depending on the organization offering the job.
For example, to work as an occupational health and safety officer for the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Board, candidates need to have experience in the OHS field promoting prevention and training, with a professional designation* and experience with issuing work permits and orders an asset.
Read more: Yukon to introduce new safety legislation this year
Candidates must also have a valid class 5 Yukon drivers’ licence, have and maintain a RCMP Criminal Record Check and complete a standard first aid/CPR course within the first three months of employment.
*Aside from Canadian designations, the role also accepts the CSP (Certified Safety Professional) which is a U.S. designation which is offered by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP).Salary: According to Indeed, safety officer salaries in Yukon can range from $58,348 to $85,552 a year for full-time roles.
Read more: How to become a Certified Safety Professional in Canada
NB: Salary estimates can vary depending on which aggregator you use, and can also vary depending on factors such as industry, title, company, seniority, location, etc. The numbers in this article are merely indicative of potential earnings.
Designations/certifications: Certified Registered Safety Technician (CRST), Certified Registered Safety Professional (CRSP), Registered Occupational Hygienist (ROH), Certified Health & Safety Consultant (CHSC), Certified Canadian Health and Safety Management System Auditor (CHSMSA), Certified Occupational Health Nurse – Canada (COHN [C]), Gold Seal Certified Construction Safety Coordinator (GSC-CSC) and National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO).
Education: There is one tertiary education institution in Yukon – Yukon University, situated in Whitehorse. Though the university does not offer courses in occupational health and safety, it does offer academic courses and trades courses that could be relevant such as Core Competencies for First Line Supervisors which covers health and safety legislation compliance.
Those interested may also want to look at the previous articles in the series for tertiary education institutions which offer OHS programs approved by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP) for CRSP and CRST eligibility.
