What’s The Best Safety Certification?

November 6, 2017 No Comments

In the last few years, we’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of certifications that occupational safety and health professionals are putting behind their names.  But which ones are the most recognized, the most popular, and indeed the best?

To find an answer to this question, we reviewed the certifications that were shown behind the names of over 4,000 safety professionals listed on LinkedIn.  We reasoned that a person would only list a certification immediately after their name if they thought the certification was rigorous, meritorious and important.

To our surprise, we found that the safety professionals in the study used 80 different certifications!  Below is our ranking of these 80 certifications based upon the number of times they turned up:

• 84 – CSP
• 26 – CHST
• 12 – CRSP
• 11 – CIH
•  9- OHST
•  8 – ARM
•  8 – CHMM
•  7 – STS
•  6 – CRIS
•  5 – CSST
•  4 – CHSC,  CET,  GPS,  CSHM,  PE,  COSS
•  3 – CSHO,  ASP,
•  2 – CUSA,  CSM,  SGE,  CHSP,  CSS,  CHRP,  CPEA
•  1 – COSHP,  MPH,  HRM,  CSSS,  REM,  ASP,  CXIT,  OSHP,  EHSM,  CHSM,  CHCM,  CEES,  COHN,  CM,  CPC,  RSA,  CPHRM,  CESSWI,  QSP,  QSSP,  CSSE,  CSRP,  AIEMA,  RIAD,  CESCO,  OHSW,  EMT,  OHS,  CLSD,  LGC,  ASHM,  CSHP,  CBES,  CFPS,  SEM,  CPE,  RSO,  NCCER,  EES,  MOS,  OSH,  CFPS,  NCSO,  MCP,  CHSEP,  CIT,  NEBOSH,  MSPH,  NREMT,  LPD,  AEP,  EMR,  SMT,  OSHT,  OSHP

Wow, that’s sure allot of acronyms!  How many of them had your heard of before?  We were only familiar with 12 of the above 80 certifications.

Most people only listed one or two certification behind their name.  But we found one guy who listed five certifications, none of which we had ever heard of before.  Sound suspicious?

The CSP (Certified Safety Professional) was in first place.   CHST (Construction Health and Safety Technician) came in a distant second.  OHST (Occupational Health and Safety Technologist) came in fifth place.   All of these certifications are administered by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

In third place was CRSP (Canadian Registered Safety Professional).  It is administered by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals.

Fourth place went to CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist).

The remaining certifications are either industry specific, discipline specific, risk specific, or second-tier certifications.  We suspect that many of the less popular certifications may be nothing more than certifications given by local organizations (or even employers) for completing a short course, conference, or seminar.

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