Lifelong Learning @ UNB
UNB College of Extended Learning

Devon Wall is a Health and Safety Advisor who completed the University of New Brunswick's online Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (COHS). When Wall set out to expand his knowledge of OHS five years ago, he already had extensive experience in operations; but what was missing for him was the "why" behind decision-making criteria in the world of occupational health and safety.

"I wanted to understand why I was checking a box on a form."

After hearing about his friend's own positive experience with the online program, Wall chose the UNB OHS program for his professional development. As a busy, working professional with a young family, the self-paced courses and the flexibility to take a break when life got busy made it very convenient to fit education into his schedule. After Wall completed his first course, he was impressed by the value he received and the ability to start a new course at any time.

"It was a program I could do anywhere in the world and be able to get it done."

Another highlight of the program for Wall was being able to reach out to instructors to ask a question or get clarification on a concept.

"As you are doing this, the instructors are there with you. I reached out twice and they swiftly got back to me."

Wall says every day on the job as a health and safety advisor is a little bit different, which he values.

"I could spend the day in the office doing paperwork or helping complete investigation reports. I could spend a day driving to a site or I could be in a facility helping with safety meetings, investigations, reviews, training, and so on."

Wall describes a career in OHS as something an individual would do if they are passionate about keeping people safe. OHS professionals work witih leaders from the top down, and the bottom up, in companies and organizations that want to reduce risk and keep people safe.

"UNB's COHS is a fantastic program for someone who is just getting their feet wet in the role of a health and safety person or advisor, or even someone who is in management. The program not only teaches you contextual information, but also gives you something you can take away and actually apply directly to the organization that you wouldn't get otherwise."

We asked Wall what keeps him up at night.

"I work for an organization that has grown tremendously in size. What keeps me up at night are the people in the organization who don't have the same mindset from when they start the day to when they end the day. There are so many other things we are tackling with our personal relationships -- dealing with home, school, and daycare. What keeps me up at night is making sure someone has their mind on task when they are doing something. It's my job to support them through the project planning phases and make sure they are not missing out on things just because of complacency."

What does the future hold for Wall?

He recently enrolled in UNB's Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS) to continue his education and work toward his goal of becoming a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)^®. 

"The DOHS will be a huge asset for me if I want to advance into management within my organization."

To learn more about the Occupational Health and Safety programming offered at UNB, visit go.unb.ca/about-ohs or contact customerservice@unb.ca.