The NCSO® is a national safety designation designed to replace a number of similar provincial designations. It was approved by the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations (CFCSA) after several years of discussion and consultation with stakeholders across the country. In BC, it replaced the Construction Safety Specialist (CSS) designation, previously offered by the BCCSA. The NCSO® offers several benefits for both safety professionals and employers. For example, BC NCSO® holders may also be able to serve as Internal Auditors for the Certificate of Recognition (COR®) program.

There are many advantages to having an NCSO® designation. Many employers recognize the NCSO® designation as a value-added qualification associated with someone who has an interest in pursuing a career in health and safety within the construction industry. Meeting the requirements of the NCSO® designation demonstrates a person’s skill level, education, and commitment to workplace safety. It is considered an entry-level designation. The NCSO® designation is recognized province-to-province through the provincial Construction Safety Associations. Through a commitment to professional development in the NCSO Terms of Participation, individuals holding this designation will remain current and up-to-date with legislative changes and industry trends.

We have enhanced the HSE practitioner requirements in response to industry demands. In doing this, we created alignment with a National Standard – allowing inter-provincial reciprocity and mobility. Lifelong learning benefits you and the HSE profession and encourages recognition of evolving standards and technology presented in this industry. We will all benefit from this maintenance!

The National Health and Safety Administrator (NHSA™) designation provides formal, entry-level training to individuals who are active in the administration of their company’s health and safety program, but do not currently possess a minimum of three years construction safety related field experience. If you are new to Canada or if you do not work in a position that provides for construction field experience this designation is best suited for you.

NHSA™ indicates to employers that an individual has practical and theoretical knowledge in various health and safety management skills and principles. An NHSA™ designation holder offers valuable administrative support to the company and NCSO® by implementing and maintaining the company health and safety program.

The NHSA™ designation is the first step towards a becoming a leader in the construction safety field!

The NCSO® designation verifies a nationally recognized level of competency in construction safety, requiring three years of practical field experience. The NHSA™ designation is for individuals active in health and safety administration without the need for field experience.

The distinguishing difference between the designations is the requirement for three (3) years of ‘field experience’ in construction. Construction field experience is required for the NCSO® designation, however it is not required for the NHSA™ designation. NHSA™ applicants will only be required to complete the 2 days of training for the COR® Internal Auditor course, and not the student audit assignment.

The NCSO® application became available as of January 1, 2017. The NHSA™ designation became available as of January 20, 2017.

To qualify for NCSO®, you must have the following:

Three (3) years or 6000 hours of construction field experience within the previous ten (10) years.

Construction field experience is defined as:

A construction worker (labourer or skilled construction tradesperson) working directly and actively in the construction field (i.e. residential, commercial, industrial, road building, pipeline construction, mobile equipment operations, etc., or similar title); or, an individual who is directly and actively engaged in safety (i.e. Site Safety Coordinator, or similar title) or responsible for the supervision (i.e. Site Superintendent) of the construction worker, who also works directly and actively in the construction field on a full-time basis.

If you have questions about your experience, please email ncso@bccsa.ca.

No, academically not. However, experience wise, you must have construction field experience for the NCSO®. The construction field experience does not apply for NHSA™.

See The Designation Process for the steps to achieving NCSO® / NHSA™.

You bet! Once you complete all course requirements and pass the exams you will be issued a three year certificate recognizing your designation with an identification number that will feature the national NCSO® or NHSA™ logo. We will also publish names of those who were successful in obtaining their NCSO® and NHSA™ on our website. This will help raise awareness of the bank of NCSO® / NHSA™ holders available and will also allow employers to verify a potential employee has a valid designation.

The length of time varies. It depends on your time, resources and course availability. Generally applicants complete the designation requirements in 2 – 3 months, although it can be achieved in as little as 4 weeks!

This depends on a number of factors such as the number of courses you have completed already and if you are employed with an organization that is a member of the BCCSA.

You can submit your payment with your online application using Visa and MasterCard (credit cards or prepaid credit cards).

An NCSO® designation is an entry‐level field position for individuals in the construction industry who have 3 or more years of construction field experience. To understand how the NCSO® compares to other safety designations please review this document developed by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers (CSSE), Hiring a Health and Safety Practitioner. This guide outlines some of the more common safety designations and certifications required for safety practitioners.

We recommend you research the benefits of all designations before making a decision.

Cost will vary from applicant to applicant, and is dependent on several factors, including; previous training and certificates for which the BCCSA can grant equivalencies, and the applicant’s eligibility for BCCSA’s no-cost training policy.

Fixed costs for all applicants include: $125 + GST application fee, as well as exam costs (National Exam: $60 + GST per attempt; Provincial Exam: $40 + GST per attempt).

There is no registration process for the NCSO^® / NHSA^™ designation. To begin, you can simply start a NCSO® / NHSA™ application online.

Make sure the file name is less than 50 characters long and that it is in either a (Adobe) pdf, (word) doc, (image) png, gif, or jpg. For example, shorten “BC Construction Safety Legislation and Administration” to “leg”.

No. However, all you need to complete is two courses: BC Construction Safety Legislation and Administration and Fall Protection, and pass both the provincial and national exams. Your BC NCSO® certificate will be issued with the same expiry date as your other valid NCSO® certificate.

Yes. Some courses obtained from another provincial safety association affiliated with the CFCSA are equivalent to BCCSA’s courses. Contact ncso@bccsa.ca to determine if your course is equivalent.

At least two out of the three required years of field-level construction experience must have been in Canada. BCCSA will accept up to one year of field-level construction experience gained outside of Canada towards your NCSO® application.

Applicants must provide reference letter(s) in English, written on company letterhead, from the employer(s) they worked for outside of Canada. Each letter should include:

• A list of projects the applicant was involved in
• The applicant's role and responsibilities on each project
• The duration of time spent on-site for each project
• Contact information of the employer so the reference can be verified

This depends on the employer’s requirements; however we recommend you complete your BC NCSO® to ensure you are aware of legislative requirements and differences.

No. You will need to keep it up‐to‐date by (a) completing six hours of professional development within the three‐year cycle of the certificate (see the Training Catalogue for suggestions), (b) maintaining COR® Internal Auditor status including a student audit, and (c) maintaining all required certifications (i.e. first aid and fall protection). Once your NCSO® or NHSA™ expires, you will not be able to renew until you complete all maintenance requirements.

Your NCSO® designation expires after 3 years. To maintain your designation, you will be required to submit updated copies of any completed certificates that have expired from the date you receive your designation. It is your responsibility to ensure all documents are valid and submitted to remain in good standing. See Designation Maintenance for details.

The CSO designation acquired through ASTTBC is awarded based on specific educational requirements from other training providers. We too recognize the training aspect of this designation. If you have successfully passed the 2 week CSO program from BCIT or the CARE Institute, you automatically receive equivalency for Leadership for Safety Excellence and Train the Safety Trainer, which are compulsory courses of the BC NCSO® and NHSA™ designations.