The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has given the “thumbs up” to recommendations developed by an OSHA committee regarding federal occupational health and safety jobs – particularly those regarding educational requirements.

In a letter to the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM), the AIHA expressed its support of the recommendations found in the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) Training Subcommittee report. The report details the current qualifications of the Safety and Occupational Health Management Job Series, GS-0018.

The FACOSH Training Subcommittee reviewed the qualifications for the positions and determined that positive education requirements should be included in the GS-0018, Safety and Occupational Health Management job series.

“AIHA is supportive of any effort to ensure that federal agencies could hire GS-0018s with the skills to meet today’s demanding standards for performing the job functions,” according to a statement released by the group.

The FACOSH recommendations are specifically aimed at helping make sure that occupational safety and health professionals in the federal government are able to provide the kind of organizational leadership in supporting their employers’ goals and mission to protect workers and provide the American people with efficient, effective service.

The AIHA said it support the recommendation that requires education and/or professional certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, or a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) from the Academy of Health Physics as a qualification. Additionally, AIHA supports the recommendation that OPM include the phrase “from an accredited college or university” with the job series education requirements. AIHA also supports the FACOSH recommendation that OPM move the GS-0018, Safety and Occupational Health Management job series, from the Administrative Series to the Professional Series.