To understand why having Eldeen Pozniak as a Key Note speaker at the HASANZ 2018 Conference was a big deal, you first have to understand what INSHPO is and how advanced workplace safety is in Canada. Also, if you are looking at recruiting any HSE Specialists you’ll find the Singapore Accord interesting.
What is INSHPO?
International Network of Safety & Health Practitioner Organisations is essentially a ‘global alliance dedicated to advancing the Occupational Safety and Health Profession.’ There are 13-member organisations from 11 different countries, including our New Zealand’s Institute of Safety Management. Poznik is the immediate Past President.
Who is Eldeen Poznik and why is she a fantastic speaker?
Eldeen has a diverse set of qualifications ranging from being a Chartered Member of IOSH to certification as a Critical Incident Stress Counsellor. In 2011, the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) named her Canadian Safety Professional of the year.
Her HASANZ presentation was a fabulous mix of poignant stories, humour and technical knowledge. Not many health and safety professionals can say they have survived their own partner going through a life-threatening workplace injury while they were pregnant with their first child. Also, not many professional speakers (whatever their technical background) can rock it out on stage while a cartoon rat tries to steal cheese from a trap, and still deliver a meaningful outcome to the story.
What is ‘The OHS Professional Capability Framework: A Global Framework for Practice’?
Beyond her personal stories and ‘Do we have what it takes?’ as HSE specialists, Eldeen, also introduced the INSHPO OHS Professional Capability Framework. This was created under the Singapore Accord 2017, where leading OHS professional organisations sort to define a global vision for HSE professional and practitioner standards.
This document is also useful for:
- Employers and recruiters: When developing position descriptions, during recruitment and as part of performance evaluation processes.
- Universities and Training Providers: Can use it as a guide when designing and reviewing health and safety education programs.
- WorksafeNZ: As a guide to understanding the range of health and safety specialist roles, and clarify what are the various requirements for certification/registration/licensing are.
- The community: As a guide to better understanding the scope of workplace health and safety
What is the difference between Competence and Capability?
The ongoing debate over who is a ‘competent’ person in NZ workplaces seems to be never-ending and INSHPO has some interesting definitions:
“Competence” has been defined as the ability to transfer and apply knowledge and skills to new situations and environments, consistently applying knowledge and skills to a standard of performance required in the workplace.
“Capability” is the applied theoretical knowledge that underpins practice in occupations and professions and also the industry-specific knowledge and skills that transcend particular workplaces and the tacit knowledge of the workplace.
What is the difference between a ‘Professional’ and a ‘Practitioner’
These are another set of terms that seem to be interchangeable in NZ. As the INSHPO framework points out “While the two roles may overlap, role clarity is imperative in enabling organizations to improve their business and OHS performance.”
Professional: Is usually university educated (or has attained a similar level of higher education), and “is a key advisor, strategist and pilot to the organization’s leadership in fully integrating the management of OHS risk into sustainable business practice at all levels.”
Practitioner: is usually vocationally educated under the NIOSH framework, they are a “Technician”. This is the person who “implements strategy, notably at site level, with an emphasis on state of-the-art-compliance.”
For a more detailed explanation read pages 11-14 of the OHS Professional Capability Framework: A Global Framework for Practice
Where can you get free position descriptions as well as Skill, Activity and Knowledge Matrixes for HSE Specialists?
Follow the link to the OHS Professional Capability Framework: A Global Framework for Practice then go to page 16 and start reading
- Table 2: Position profiles for OHS Practitioners
- Table 3: Position profiles for OHS Professionals
- Table 4: Activity matrix for OHS Practitioners and OHS Professionals
- Table 5: Knowledge matrix for OHS Practitioners and OHS Professionals
- Table 6: Skills matrix for OHS Practitioners and OHS Professionals
From there you will have all the information required to build a basic position description with key performance indicators and person specification for your own in-house role.
As always, please let me know if you have anything to add the debate on what HSE Specialists do in the real world or other resources worth looking at call Sarah on 0272 007 680 or email sarah@employmenow.co.nz.