Is the SMS Credential Gaining More Recognition?
I had a colleague mention that his Safety Management Specialist (SMS) credential from BCSP holds equal weight to my Certified Safety Professional designation and even stated it was more difficult to obtain. I’ve always assumed the CSP was the gold standard in the safety profession. For the lesser-known certifications, like the SMS, should it really be considered equal? What’s driving this sentiment? Are these newer credentials gaining traction, or is the CSP still seen as the benchmark?
Comments (8)
The SMS is not equal to the CSP (not even close, in my opinion). The SMS certification is good for certain industries and may be desirable by SOME employers, but the CSP is still the top certification from the BCSP for all industries. I think the SMS certification is very industry specific as far as it being a desirable certification from employers. I see the construction industry sometimes reference it, but I've never seen a lead EHS role in general industry request an SMS certification on the job posting. That's not to say it's not worthy of achieving and that you won't learn a lot by studying for it, but most employers don't know what the SMS means, so even if you personally benefit from it, it may not necessarily increasing your hiring potential. It's also not recognized as a "Qualifying Credential" if you want to get your CSP, so you'd still have to obtain your ASP, GSP, TSP, or CIH certification (or one of the listed foreign certifications) to even qualify to take the CSP exam.
If you want to gain knowledge and maybe get your foot in the door, the SMS may be worth it. If you eventually want the CSP, I would go for the ASP instead.
OJT is and always will be the Platinum Standard.
I don't know how I missed this thread but I am definitely following this post just to read through all the points made by both parties.
I tried to take the "Gold Standard" approach to my certification. When I was hired as the Safety Manager for the City of Gillette, I was told at my one-year review that I needed to get certified. So I asked the HR Specialist which certifications the previous Safety Manager had earned. After some digging she found out that he earned his OSHA 501 and OSHA 511 certifications. So I pursued and earned both of those certifications.
At my next year's performance review, once again the HR Director informed me that I needed to get certified. When I told him of the certifications that I had earned he told me that is not what he was looking for. Upon further investigations, the previous Safety Manager earned some of NSC's certificates (not certified). Well if I was needing to get certified, I was going to pursue my CSP through BCSP.
So I started my journey only to quickly find out to earn the CSP you first had to earn the ASP. I started pursuing my ASP and even took a couple of pre-conference PDS on the ASP prep. I felt that I was prepped for the test and I scheduled it for later that fall. However, in July, BCSP announced that in order for a candidate to sit for the CSP they had to have at least a Bacherlor's degree. It did not matter what the degree was in but merely that you have a BA degree.
Since I only had an AAS degree (and I didn't want to go back to college for two years in my older years), ASP was going to be the highest certification I could earn through BCSP. Now something else to mention is NASP was a very new certification body and most people did not know it existed.