Canadian Registered Safety Professional (Crsp)

Board of Canadian Registered Safety ProfessionalsCONFIDENTIAL

6700 Century Ave Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 6A4

905-567-7198 / 1-888-279-2777 / Fax 905-567-7191

CANADIAN REGISTERED SAFETY PROFESSIONAL (CRSP)®

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE EXPERIENCE RECORD GUIDE

Experience Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate at least 36 months of continuous full time, verifiable, and acceptable occupational health and safety (OHS) experience.

University/college/co-op work terms may not be applied to professional practice.

Gaps in employment due to parental leave, LTD, returning to school full-time, unemployment, etc., to a maximum of 12 months will not negate the 36-month continuous employment requirement but must be identified on the application. Employment gaps of more than 12 months will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please note that the gap period is not counted in calculating the 36 months continuous full time, verifiable, and acceptable occupational health and safety (OHS) experience.

Acceptable OHS Experience

Satisfactory OHS experience is that which complements your OHS training and builds on the knowledge that you gained in college or university.

The position must be focused on the prevention of harm to people, property, and the environment, rather than the responsibility for responding to harmful events. Activities should involve analytical approaches and the recommendations made for recognizing a broad range of hazards and hazard controls. Experience should also provide for the development of responsibility, judgment, and communication skills.

The following are the five elements of satisfactory OHS experience for certification purposes. A substantial exposure to the first two, “Application of OHS Principles” and “Practical Experience” is mandatory while a reasonable exposure to the remaining elements is sufficient. A complete lack of exposure to any one of these areas may render the applicant unsuitable for certification.

• Application of OHS Principles – interpretation, analysis, evaluation and application of recognized models and tools, application of risk management processes, evaluation of OHS performance, auditing, investigation, training, safety and health promotion, etc.
• Practical Experience – responsibility and accountability for own work within the context of a larger work system, limitations of OHS generalist practice, knowledge and understanding of codes, standards, regulations and laws.
• Management of OHS Practice – strategic and management planning, project management, change management, understanding and working within a business context, budgeting, problem solving, critical thinking
• Communication Skills – written work, oral presentations and training, negotiation and conflict resolution, coaching and mentoring, influencing and engaging
• Ethical Practice – understanding, upholding and promoting the standard of ethical OHS practice as defined within the CRSP Rules of Professional Conduct and well as other ethical codes that may apply.

All of the above noted factors are taken into account when assessing the Experience Record and the application for certification. The simple passage of time is not sufficient; the quality of the experience is very important.

How to Create Your Experience Record

To assist with the review and help you ensure that your Experience Record provides adequate information it is suggested that your Record be organized as follows:

•Complete the Experience Record Form for each position about which you are reporting (including the company name, location and the employment dates (month and year). Periods of absence from employment (traveling, unemployed) should also be listed with dates; and

•For each position about which you are reporting give us a small paragraph describing your job responsibilities with an emphasis on the OHS duties; and

•Describe how the work experience obtained in that position meets each of the five elements (application of OHS practice, practical experience, management of OHS practice, communications skills, and ethical practice).

When describing your OHS activities:

•Focus on what you did as it relates to each of the elements. Structure the description to include not only WHAT you did, but HOW you did it and WHY you did it. You may use the format: “I did…using …in order to…”

•Be specific about what you did as opposed to the work of the team. “I determined the hazard….”

•Provide sufficient information about the complexity of the situation.

Supporting Documentation

For each employment position, you are also required to submit an employer verification letter and the formal job description for the position.

The employment verification letter must:

•Be on company letterhead

•Verify the following information

• Name of employee, company, position held
• Type of position (full/time, part-time, contract)
• Employment start date and end date
• Define the % of time involved in OHS practice (hours/year or % of job duties)
• If multiple positions were held at the same company, the letter should specify each position title and the employment dates within each position

•Must be signed by an authorized representative of the company (the position manager/supervisor or HR department)

The Formal Job Description must:

•Be on company letterhead

•Be signed/verified by an authorized representative of the company (the position manager/supervisor or HR department)

Evaluators can only consider the information provided. If information does not clearly define job functions in detail, evaluators cannot award credit for the work experience. BCRSP may request additional information to decide on credit for a position, and such requests may delay the evaluation process.

EXPERIENCE RECORD FORM

Applicant Information:Current Date:

Name of Supervisor and/or HR Contact for this employment position