Developing the core body of knowledge for the generalist OHS professional

Abstract

Historically, the lack of a defined body of knowledge was identified as inhibiting OHS professional education, the quality of OHS advice and recognition of the profession. In 2009, an Australian OHS regulator recognized the issue and provided funding for the development of the OHS Body of Knowledge and implementation of the Body of Knowledge through accreditation of OHS education and voluntary certification of OHS professionals. The paper describes the process for developing the OHS Body of Knowledge including the stimulus for initiating the project, the early exploration and the development and validation of the framework. It then addresses the design of the framework by clarifying the intended users and the underlying principles, describing the meta-paradigm and the final conceptual structure. The paper concludes by briefly discussing the current status, ongoing issues and future direction.