Posted By Roy McKnight
Hi Ian,

I am a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) and I have been doing health and safety work in Canada since 1992. My academic experience is from Leicester University so I can tell you a bit about what is different about safety in Canada compared to the UK.

There are two significant differences.
1. In Canada there is no national standard such as NEBOSH. Canada is divided into provinces and territories and each has the responsibility for workplace safety. There is a Labour Code for inter provincial workplaces such as the military, banks, pipelines and railways but they are far outnumbered by the small employers that exist throughout the provinces.

2. The UK has taken a far greater interest in using a risk based approach to managing health and safety. We (here) are only now starting to realize the advantages to such an approach but it seems to be agonizingly slow to gain acceptance and integration at any organizational level.

Now as far as getting employment in OHS in Canada. The number of openings exceed the number of qualified applicants. Employers are looking for at least a one year certificate/diploma and a minimum of a three years experience. Salaries start around 50K CAD and increase dramatically if you have a degree or you are a registered professional(member of IOSH, CSP, or CRSP).

If you can handle fact that this is a huge country, with cold winters and your willing to work in oil/gas, mining, or forestry there may well be a job for you here. The air is mostly clean, crime rate is quite low and the cost of living is probably 30% less than the UK. I now loving coming to visit London but I really couldn't imagine living any where else but here.

Best of luck in your job search.

Roy

Posted By Charlie Mc
Nice to hear the Mr McKnight is doing well, in Canada, perhaps this is due to other factors other than H & S; degree in other related subjects perhaps; Mech. Elec. Civils, etc. which haven't been mentioned. I have tried without success over the last year to gain entry to Canada, visits, letters out, emails sent, etc. I don't just mean one or two letters, I mean a concentrated effort over a period of time. Lets be perfectly clear here if you do not have experience in the industries that Mr McKnight has highlighted then there is no chance of you getting in. Mining, Forrestry, and Petro-chem (Oil Sands, in Alberta for instance) are key industries, and again if you don't have the background you won't get in. I have a fantastic career background, and worldwide experience, civils, construction, high speed rail, training, quality, and assessment, and to be perfectly honest if I can't get in then there either has to be something seriously wrong with my background, and experience; Post-Grad in Management, NEBOSH General, ISO9001:2000 Lead, and Internal Auditor, 18001 Advanced Auditor, CIEH Trainer, Managing Safely Cert. NEBSM Management, plus others or there isn't the places, I would really suggest the latter. I have found the same reluctance to entertain me in Australia, and America. Health, and Safety isn't sexy in the countries (inc Canada) beef up your background, with a degree, diploma, or certifcate in Electrical, Civils, or Mechanical, and watch the invites for interview roll in. I may now have left it to late to get entry to Canada now, and may now give up. Good luck if you get in, perhaps you may ask Mr Fantastic for a job, he's been there since 1992 don't ya know.

Posted By Charlie Mc
Oh, dear. My attitude as you put it has never been a problem, and that is a pretty strong statement considering you know nothing about me, or the work I do. If my attitude was a problem do you think that I would be working in an industry that promotes positive beliefs, and cultures at all times. Lets be perfectly clear Britain is terrible place to live, and work, but for what ever reason it is being flooded with immigrants wanting to better their life. On the other hand if I want to better my life and leave this country I am restricted in this quest. Perhaps you may want to consider the last paragraph of Mr McKnights' response, where he states he would never come back here, nice to visit but not live. If he had tendered his information without this gleeful chuckle at us poor plebs stuck in this mire, then I may have offered a more balanced view point. No doubt you are a wonderful human being with no bad traits, or vices, and have never spoken out loud, or lost your temper at anything, I doubt it very much, and perhaps you may wish to consider your attitude, and response before you press the 'post response' button.

Posted By A Hayden
I agree with Metalman, one can't but help sense a negative (dare I say begrudging?) attitude from Charlie.
Good luck to Roy and his success. He is inspirational.

Posted By SeanThompson
you must of read my mind metalman. exactly what i was thinking

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Posted By Charlie Mc
Timothy, regardless of what has been said earlier, and I still believe I gave a brutal, frank, and honest opinion of what it is like to pursue immigration into Canada, here is some information that you may find of some use, from someone who is trying to get in, and will continue:

1. www.cig.gc.ca - This will give you the bottom line on the immigration process. Everything is there.
2. www.csse.org - This is the home page of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers
3. www.ccohs.ca - This the home page of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health
4. www.ohscanada.com - This is the equivalent of the SHP Magazine web page
5. www.bcrsp.ca - This is the web page of the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Practitioners. This is perhaps the nearest they have to IOSH with regards to post nominals, and industry recognition. They have a quite a lenghty multi-choice exam paper which you have to go through, and pass before getting the post nominals CRSP. But beware there is now a minimal pre-requsite education criteria that you have to meet before going through the exam, although this doesn't kick in unti 2009. You will get more information on their webpage.

Other things you may wish to consider;

1. Point scoring system for immigration is now at the lowest ever. This may not last see www.cig.gc.ca for further info.
2. There are organisations available in Canada that will (for a fee) transfer your qualifications as near as possible into the Canadian equivalent. Again see www.cig.gc.ca for further info.
3. Key courses that you will have to consider are WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Sheet) their COSHH equivalent; H2S Alive (Confined Space Training) mandatory for Petro-Chem, and Mining Industries; there are others.
4. COR - Certificate of Recognition. In nutshell, Companies want to achieve this, this is their golden chalice of proving that they have a bench-marked SMS in place. Their are courses available in understanding this, and implementing this for your company or for others.
5. Two key colleges that provide Safety Training, and Formal education in Safety, and Health, are; South Alberta Institute of Technology, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Posted By jayakumar
Hi everyone

Jayakumar from malaysia working as a safety &health manager in a oleo-chemicals with wide range of experience in production need to know if there chance to explore into safety in Canada and how's the opening like . aged at 44
wondering is it abit too late or the chances are still wide open.
Have bsc in Environmental Management from Hartford UK and sho from niosh malaysia
any level of equivalent to the Safety & Health officer of Niosh

Posted By craig ellis
be aware, these companys that transfer your qualifications will not work for you if(in there eyes) its a trade qualification.

Posted By Charley Farley-Trelawney
What a wonderful opportunity if you were allowed in; at half a century in years of age, I wish I was brave enough to down pen and do it. It seems a wonderful place (never been there, just seen pictures and films)I love the cold dry weather, and it would be a great challenge.

Thanks for the candid detailing of what is available.

Posted By Anar
Dear Roy McKnight,

I work in azerbaijan, baku. I have been working in hse field (oil and gas) already five years.
I obtained NEBOSH Int. General Certificate for Occupational Safety and Health, now i am candidate for NEBOSH National Diploma.

Is it possible for me to get a job in canada?

Please advice.

Regards

Anar

Posted By craig ellis
i applied for immigration 2 years ago, i can check my application progress on line and my medical records have now been verified and the next thing will be the big yes or no.

i know people who complain about the immigration process in canada once they failed to get in.

these people all done one thing wrong, they did not employ a lawyer to work for them and submitted the application themselves.

im not talking about relocators who make vast amounts of money on the legals, finding a house, and anything else thats important, one even tried to charge us £200 for writing a cv canadian style(resume).

a proper immigration lawyer cost about a quarter the price and ours even gives you half your money back if your application fails, needless to say, hes never at to refund anyone, they will let you know at the start if its worth applying.

as for oh&s work, well, i have found the organizations to be at worse helpfull, there are distance learning courses to get you started because nebosh is not recognised over there but then again, anyone can be given the roll of h&s advisor, i understand the construction industry is in for a shock in jan 2009, bye all accounts they will then be up to uk levels of h&s.

im just gonna get there and try my damnedest to get into the industry and if i need to start down the ladder or get more certification then so be it, whatever it takes to get settled.

anyone need a immigration lawyer for british columbia
e-mail
leadmanellis@yahoo.com

cheers