By Dave Groves, staff writer
Fueled by increasing demand in industry, diverse work opportunities and soaring job satisfaction ratings, the occupational safety and health career field has seen tremendous growth over the last decade. What’s more, its rapid growth rate shows few signs of slowing.
Charles McGlothlin, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) program director and special instructor, said he’s seen both high school graduates and working professionals respond to exciting opportunities this relatively young career field offers. Not only are more people becoming interested, but many are seeking as much preparation as they can get.
Oakland University has responded to increasing demand for educational offerings by making its widely respected bachelor’s degree program in occupational safety and health available online with a capstone internship experience.
An advantage Oakland has in preparing occupational safety and health professionals – from the perspective of students and industry recruiters alike – is that it is one of only 11 in the country to be accredited by ABET, Inc., the nation’s recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology.
“What’s really become clear to me as this career field has developed is that a four-year ABET accredited university degree is clearly the preferred route of entry to the safety and health profession,” McGlothlin explained. “The demand for occupational safety and health professionals is definitely out there and is expected to grow in the future.”
The online course offerings provide both traditional students and working adults with greater flexibility in pursuing the 125-credit-hour program. Working adults, specifically, will discover that time they’ve spent in nearly any career field will be relevant and helpful in this course of study.
“When working toward a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health, it’s a huge advantage to have that work experience,” McGlothlin said. He noted that much of what working students learn in the OSH program is highly applicable to issues they deal with in their workplace.
Helping generate interest in the occupational safety and health field is the fact that workers are being hired in a wide array of occupational settings – from manufacturing and production to government service, insurance, consulting, construction, utilities, transportation and many other industries.
“You can work in just about any occupational area you can think of,” McGlothlin said. “Wherever your work area interests may be, chances are you’ll find safety professionals working there.”
Also contributing to substantial growth is the fact that employers are learning that investments in workplace safety and health not only are the right thing to do from an ethical standpoint, but make sound business sense. In fact, some studies have pointed to tenfold returns on health and safety investments.
“Today, good employers look at (Occupational Safety and Health Act) regulations as the floor – the foundation from which they build up,” McGlothlin said. “Good employers have gone well beyond these rules to development of comprehensive management systems to protect people, property and the environment.”
“The justification to develop a comprehensive safety and health system is so dramatic that it’s almost unimaginable for a company not to do it.” McGlothlin added. “However, it does take a skilled safety professional to develop and facilitate implementation of such a system. Developing that competent safety professional is what we do at Oakland University.”
Enjoying a very positive response to the online bachelor’s degree program offering, Oakland is now in the process of developing a fully online master’s degree program in safety management. Offered in partnership with Oakland’s School of Business Administration, this curriculum is geared particularly toward safety professionals interested in pursuing management and administrative positions.
For more information on the online bachelor’s degree and other OSH programs, visit
www.oakland.edu/shs/osh or call (248) 370-2664.
