The our bodies representing Environmental Well being Officers (EHOs) in England, Wales, Northern Eire and in Australia have signed an settlement which may assist enhance recruitment into the occupation in every nation.
The Presidents of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Well being (CIEH) and Environmental Well being Australia (EHA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which they are saying develops a transparent pathway for EHOs in England, Wales and Northern Eire to have the ability to apply in Australia and vice versa.
Environmental well being is among the hardest skilled roles to fill within the 4 international locations with many vacancies remaining open for months and the persistent scarcity of EHOs is inflicting concern for the way forward for public well being safety consequently.
CIEH President Mark Elliott and EHA President Melissa Burn signed the settlement following the fruits of seemingly a few years of negotiation and mapping of competencies between the international locations.
It’s hoped that this settlement may very well be used as a blueprint for related MoU’s between different international locations and assist sort out the workforce challenges in environmental well being globally.
CIEH President Mark Elliott stated: “The signing of the MoU with our counterparts in Australia marks a major and thrilling milestone within the historical past of the environmental well being occupation in our international locations. England, Wales and Northern Eire and Australia share ongoing challenges when it comes to recruitment and the way forward for the occupation is beneath risk with out motion equivalent to this being taken.
“We hope this agreement will open up doors and remove barriers for EHOs, should they wish to relocate, to utilise their wide armoury of skills and knowledge for the benefit of communities in our countries and help boost under pressure environmental health workforces.”
Environmental Well being Programme Chief at Liverpool John Moores College, Graeme Mitchell, stated: “For those of us who have spent our career in environmental health and are passionate about the profession this agreement is an exciting development, which will undoubtedly help to make studying environmental health an even more attractive proposition with the increased possibilities and options this MoU represents.”
EHA President Melissa Burn stated: “This MoU acknowledges the global nature of environmental health. It enhances the environmental health qualification, making it a more attractive option given the widened accessibility of opportunities.”
Professor of Environmental Well being at Flinders College, South Australia Kirstin Ross stated: “This agreement provides a clear pathway for environmental health professionals to follow to allow them to practice in a different country, and excitingly, provides a blueprint for other countries to undertake similar MoU’s.”
