Creating a New Generation of OHS Professionals

A number of factors have contributed to a shortage of occupational health and safety professionals in the United States in recent years. An aging workforce combined with fewer professional training opportunities has resulted in a steady decline in the number of young people pursuing careers in industrial hygiene, occupational medicine or nursing, or university research and teaching. These developments have occurred during a period of particular need. Since 1970, U.S. employment has nearly doubled, from 56 million workers at 3.5 million work sites to 105 million workers at nearly 6.9 million sites. Workers today face a wider array of hazards – resulting from changes in job opportunities, growth in the low-wage service sector, and emergence of contingent work and other forms of work insecurity – while fewer American workers are protected by unions. The need for a new generation of occupational health and safety professionals and advocates has never been greater. This session will examine strategies for fostering a new generation of OHS professionals. Individual presentations during the session will focus on existing pathways for young people entering the field, including the Occupational Health Internship Program and the NIOSH Education and Research Centers. Presentations will describe the methods used to attract and train young professionals, strategies to insert them into the labor market, and the successes and current challenges the programs face. The discussion will also focus on how to attract a more diverse group of professionals that match the increasing diversity of the U.S. workforce.