What is Occupational Health?
Occupational Health is a branch of healthcare that is specifically involved in assessing the impact of health on work and work on health.
Occupational Health specialists provide employees and employers with clear, impartial specialist advice on how employee health is affecting their ability to work, or how work is affecting employee health.
The Role of Occupational Health Technician
An Occupational Health Technician (OHT) is part of a multi-disciplinary team, and conduct a range of health assessments with employees to determine their current level of health in relation to their workplace exposures. An OHT looks at health issues, such as an employee’s hearing ability or current level of respiratory health.
OHT’s travel to client sites and OHTs complete high quality health outcome reports, and liaise regularly with Occupational Health Nurses, Health & Safety and Human Resources personnel.
The role of an OHT is varied, fast paced, and makes a real difference to the health of employees.
Career Opportunities
Future career pathways could include:
- Public Health/Health and Wellbeing leading to being a Wellness Coach or Health and Wellbeing Advisor
- Nurse practitioner
- Nurse
- Health and Safety Advisor
- Technician Clinical Lead
- OH Manager
- Contract Manager in OH
Occupational Health Technicians work with a large variety of clients across a range of industries, the role provides an excellent opportunity to identify and assess occupational disease and ill health in the workplace. The role is often involved in lots of health, safety and wellbeing initiatives with clients and their input into these further the important agenda of health at work.
Training to be an Occupational Health Technician
The Occupational Health Technician role is typically suited to those from a health sciences background due to the excellent foundation of health related knowledge they possess. Technicians will typically be accredited to provide audiometry and spirometry services and will undergo in-house training with supervision to complete assessments such as skin and hand arm vibration syndrome and many more.
Occupational Health Technicians work very closely with other occupational health professionals such as Occupational Health Nurses and Physicians to progress workplace health at the organisations they work in, they get lots of clinical support and are constantly learning.
Interested in a career as an Occupational Health Technician with Health Matters – Occupational Health? We provide full training and you don’t need to have any previous occupational health experience.