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Introducing the OSH Skills Commission

A RoSPA initiative bringing together experts and industry leaders to strengthen occupational safety and health capability in the UK.  

Why this matters

  • Across the UK, occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals are grappling with significant challenges.
  • Widening skills gaps, the loss of experienced professionals, and mounting pressures on remaining staff are creating a perfect storm that threatens workplace safety. 
  • Difficulty attracting and retaining talent combined with rising salaries and increasing regulatory demands, underscores the urgency of action.
  • Our Safer Lives, Stronger Nation report highlighted a troubling trend: accident rates across society are rising.
  • Without strategic support and investment, the OSH workforce will struggle to meet growing expectations for safety and wellbeing, which threaten to exacerbate social mobility challenges and deepen skills shortages over time.
  • Addressing these issues now is essential to protect lives, build resiliency into the workforce, and ensure a safer future for all.

"The UK cannot afford to fall behind on the skills that keep our people safe. As workplaces evolve, so must our approach to developing and sustaining OSH capability. The OSH Skills Commission is our commitment to driving a smarter, more resilient national skills landscape—one that empowers organisations, protects workers, and prepares industry for the challenges ahead. ”

In partnership with: 

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What will the OSH Skills Commission do?

Our aim is to understand and address the growing issue of skill fade in the UK workforce, recognising that skilled and competent workers are essential to maintaining safe and healthy workplaces.

The OSH Skills Commission seeks to identify what drives the decline in workforce skills and develop expert‑backed recommendations for industry and government to reverse this trend.

By convening leaders, technical experts, and innovative practitioners, the Commission will explore five key areas influencing skill: recruitment, retention, consultation, technology and wellbeing. Insights gathered from five themed roundtables will shape a single report offering practical, evidence‑informed solutions to strengthen and sustain a skilled workforce that can effectively support OSH professionals, especially in the face of emerging challenges like climate change, AI, and the aftermath of the pandemic.

Key Commission outcomes

  1. Promote best practices, showcasing employers with effective policies or initiatives that have positively impacted skills development, retention or attraction through a series of Commissioner-led roundtables focused on:
    • Recruitment of competent people
    • Retention of competent people
    • Consultation and worker representation
    • Wellbeing, culture & psychological safety
    • Technology in OSH
  2. Understand the barriers to recruitment, retention, and progression in OSH skills for both the profession and wider workforce
  3. Develop strategic recommendations for government and industry to support future-proof skills development and workforce resilience
  4. Publish a public findings report in June 2026

Press office

For enquiries about the OSH Skills Commission, contact our press office
 
 
Call: +44 (0)121 248 2134 - lines open 24/7
Email: pressoffice@rospa.com

Our partner