Heavy Manufacturing
Heavy manufacturing plays a crucial role in building the infrastructure and industrial systems that power our economies. As the sector evolves to meet net-zero commitments, there is a growing need for leaders and technical specialists who can drive decarbonisation, optimise resource efficiency, and implement sustainable production methods - all whilst maintaining the health & safety of their people. Acre partners with businesses in heavy industry to recruit top talent in engineering, operations, and strategic leadership, ensuring they can successfully transition towards cleaner, safer and more resilient manufacturing.
Light Manufacturing
Light manufacturing is at the forefront of innovation, producing precision components, consumer goods, and high-tech equipment with a focus on sustainability and efficiency. As businesses integrate circular economy principles, sustainable sourcing, and greener production processes, the need for skilled professionals is greater than ever. Acre connects organisations with specialists in sustainable design, lean manufacturing, and supply chain optimisation to help them stay ahead in an increasingly responsible and competitive market.
Construction & Engineering
The construction and engineering sectors are undergoing a fundamental shift, embracing low-carbon materials, energy-efficient buildings, and resilient infrastructure solutions. From net-zero construction to green retrofitting and smart cities, Acre supports organisations in sourcing the talent they need to lead this transformation. We provide recruitment solutions for sustainability-focused architects, engineers, EHS leaders and project managers, helping companies deliver future-proof infrastructure that meets both environmental and regulatory demands.
Materials & Chemicals
The materials and chemicals industry is key to the sustainability transition, with innovations in bio-based materials, low-carbon production, and waste reduction shaping the future of manufacturing. Businesses must balance environmental responsibility with operational efficiency, requiring forward-thinking leadership and technical expertise. Acre helps companies recruit specialists in green chemistry, sustainable materials science, circular economy strategies and EHS (environment, health & safety) ensuring they can drive progress towards a cleaner, more sustainable industrial landscape.
The experts in finding senior talent in Industrials & Manufacturing
The industrials and manufacturing sector is at the heart of global economic progress, producing the materials, products, and infrastructure that shape our world. As industries face increasing pressure to reduce emissions, embrace circular economy principles, and integrate sustainable practices, the demand for skilled professionals who can lead this transformation has never been greater.
Acre partners with businesses across heavy and light manufacturing, construction, and materials innovation to connect them with the talent needed to drive efficiency, decarbonisation, and long-term resilience. Whether developing sustainable supply chains, ensuring high health and safety standards, implementing low-carbon technologies, or enhancing resource efficiency, we help organisations build teams that are shaping the future of responsible manufacturing.
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Thought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
FeaturedIndustrials & ManufacturingThought LeadershipRaising the Standard: A New Competency Framework for the Health & Safety Profession
When we last reviewed the Health and Safety Competency Framework in 2019, it was before COVID, before the rapid emergence of AI, and before many of the changes we are now seeing in how and where organisations operate. Businesses are growing quickly and moving into new markets whilst operating across increasingly complex global supply chains and responding to changing legislative, societal and reporting expectations.
At the same time, our understanding of what it means to keep people safe and well is broadening. The profession is increasingly expected to consider not only physical health and safety, but psychological health and safety and the wider factors that influence wellbeing at work. Along with this, organisations are asking more of every function: how are you enabling the business to perform? This question is as relevant for Health and Safety as any other function. Health and Safety has risked being perceived as primarily a compliance activity - something organisations have to do, rather than something that enables them to do great work.
>> Read the full report here
The opportunity for the profession is to change that. This doesn't mean technical expertise matters less. It remains fundamental. But technical knowledge alone isn't enough to create impact. Today's Health and Safety professional needs to understand the organisation they operate within: its ambitions, pressures, people, performance measures and priorities. They need to understand how work affects people physically and psychologically, and be able to apply their expertise pragmatically, influence decisions, enable others and help the organisation consciously manage risk as it grows and changes. Put simply, our role is not just to make work safe. It is to help organisations do great work safely.
And that requires us to keep evolving too. The purpose of revisiting the framework in 2026 was therefore not simply to update a set of competencies. It was to challenge ourselves again as a profession: what does it take to be truly effective and make an impact in Health and Safety today - and what will we need for the future? Our mission hasn't changed. We want people to go home safe and well. But as the world around us changes, we cannot become complacent about the capabilities required to achieve it.
This framework has always been shaped by the profession, for the profession. The first iteration was developed in 2015, followed by a significant review in 2019. In 2026, we returned to the profession to test what still stood up, what needed to evolve and what might be missing. We deliberately sought input from a broad range of Health and Safety professionals, drawing on the Acre network, previous contributors, professional networks, forums and social media to extend participation beyond those already close to the framework.
These participants made up an active working group which had a global footprint. The working group was invited to review the existing framework and contribute through a survey and/or structured interview. We asked four deliberately simple questions: What's missing? What do you disagree with or believe is over-emphasised? Which three competencies matter most for Health and Safety professionals in 2026, and why? What should the framework encourage more of over the coming years? The structured interviews allowed us to probe those answers more deeply, before drawing together the recurring themes and using them to challenge and reshape the framework.
Throughout the process, we maintained one important lens: this is a non-technical competency framework. When themes such as AI and emerging technology arose, for example, we considered the underlying capability a professional needs to navigate them - curiosity, continuous learning, judgement and the ability to critically evaluate what is useful and appropriate - rather than creating competencies around individual technologies that may quickly change. What was perhaps most striking was how much of the previous framework stood the test of time.
This wasn't a case for starting again. Instead, the research highlighted where emphasis needed to shift and where some capabilities needed to become much more explicit. A revised framework was then shared with the working group for further validation, with the final round of feedback incorporated into the 2026 edition. The result is a deliberately simple structure: three Foundations that apply throughout a career, followed by Business Partnering and Leadership levels.
>> Read the full report here
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