HSE Engineers, or Health and Safety Engineers, have one of the world’s most important jobs – making sure businesses and the environment we live in are safe places. Without HSE Engineers we would be putting ourselves and the environment at risk every day, with poor practices and badly designed equipment.
If you want a rewarding and fulfilling career in engineering, our expert BMR Solutions team can help you find the perfect HSE Engineer job today.
What is a HSE Engineer?
A HSE Engineer is at the forefront of health and safety regulation, designing and implementing systems to protect both human health and the environment.
These days, all businesses are required by law to have health and safety procedures in place. This means HSE engineering is one of the most versatile engineering roles, covering a huge range of industries and locations – from oil rigs in the North Sea to state-of-the-art research laboratories.
Most HSE Engineers will spend their time split between an office and being out in the field, assessing the sites that they are working on.
HSE Engineer Job Description
Due to the huge range of industries that a HSE Engineer can work in, the exact roles and responsibilities can vary quite a lot. However, a standard job description might include some of the following:
- Design and create safety systems and procedures.
- Put in place and monitor safety policies for all employees to follow.
- Generate safety reports and analyse findings, to learn from accidents and flagged issues.
- Conduct regular health and safety audits to ensure businesses are abiding by official laws and best practices.
- Set up and deliver training to employees, explaining the health and safety policies and procedures and why they are so important.
Education & Work Experience Requirements
Almost all HSE Engineers are required to have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, though the specialism is less important. It is also considered very important to have practical engineering and lab experience, so candidates who have previous work experience or have taken work experience modules during their degree are preferable.
To work up the ranks, a master’s degree might help you get a foot on the management ladder faster, but it is not essential.
HSE Engineer Skillset
Since HSE Engineering is a hybrid of complex, technical work and practical solutions, employers will be looking for adaptable and multi-skilled candidates. Some of the less official skills required might include:
Technical Skills
Almost all HSE Engineers work on complex machinery and software that requires a high level of technical understanding in areas like electrical safety, machine safeguarding and equipment lockout.
IT Skills
Computer literacy is a non-negotiable for a HSE Engineer, as you will spend a significant amount of time using computers to both design processes and then report on them.
People Person
As a business’ HSE Engineer you will need to work with employees from all levels, to implement safety procedures and policies and train staff on how they should follow best practices. Therefore, good communication skills and the ability to present and tailor training to different ways of learning is key.
Problem Solving Skills
You’ll need to be the kind of person who sees an accident or safety issue and isn’t fazed by it but is ready to accept fault (if needs be) and come up with a practical and achievable solution.
Collaborative
Whether it’s working with inspectors, company management, or other engineers, you will need to be able to work efficiently as part of a team to create the optimum safety policies for your business.
HSE Engineer Salary
HSE Engineering can be a very profitable job, largely because the industries that HSE Engineers tend to work in are themselves very profitable industries. For example, many HSE Engineers work in construction or the oil and gas industry.
In 2021, Glassdoor puts the average base salary of a HSE Engineer at just under £46,000, which is well above the average salary. As with any job, salary is dependent on experience and will grow as you gain more responsibilities and take on management roles.
Find your Perfect Role with BMR Solutions
At BMR Solutions we know that recruitment is all about people, which is why we value the relationships we have built with both clients and candidates. We want to help find the perfect candidate for each role we work on in Bristol and across the UK.
If you are an aspiring engineer or looking to take the next step in your career, get in touch and let us help you today.
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