Laboratory Occupational Health and Safety Technician

With thousands of research institutes and industrial biotechnology companies doing business in San Diego, there is now a demand for specifically trained Laboratory Safety Technicians to enter the job market. The EHSM department and industry partners have created robust coursework to meet the needs of laboratory-specific regulations, including hazardous materials and waste management, HAZWOPER certification, and biological, chemical, and radiological regulatory compliance specific to a laboratory setting. Graduates will obtain positions in the laboratory setting as safety technicians, hazardous-waste technicians, environmental technicians, and occupational safety and health technicians.  

Enrollment Completer Projections are projections of number of students to earn certificate or degree annually: 10-15.

The Environmental Health and Safety Management program offers in-depth coursework, hands-on laboratories, and work experience to provide real-world applications and useable certificates of training, which give students the advantage in hiring and workplace performance. A Certificate of Achievement in Laboratory Safety Management prepares students to enter the career field as an OSH Technician serving all research institutions and industrial laboratories in the United States. The Occupational Safety and Health Technician occupation has a projected growth rate of 7% through the year2030. Due to this demand and the changing political views, scientific research ,and increased regulations, the student must be prepared in many aspects of the workplace.  Our program provides specialized study in laboratory safety management, biological, chemical, and nuclear hazards, ventilation, hazardous materials, and waste management, and emergency response skills to hazardous waste spills (HAZWOPER). Industry partners, through required advisory committee meetings and annual instructor training ,provide content review and insight into new trends in occupational safety and health in the laboratory setting for the implementation of new or existing curriculum changes.  Additionally, the occupational health and safety administration and other regulatory agencies provide preferred training topics, required program audits, and certification requirements to help ensure the program maintains a robust and thorough certificate pathway. 

The certificate of achievement in Laboratory Safety Technician provides students a clear pathway to a career in Occupational Safety and Health serving the laboratory and research industries.  This certificate serves the growing demands of the biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemical development, and research industries. The EHSM department has developed a certificate that aligns with the core values of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District Education Master Plan Mission to include course work, which is student-centered, equitable, and innovative. Course work focuses on content applied to the EHSM career field while exploiting concerns in social justice, community well-being, and cultural differences.  Each EHSM course in the pathway provides students with an opportunity to experience technical and theoretical problem solving while in the nurturing environment of a classroom, hands-on laboratory, or a supervised role with community partners through field experience.  The approach increases student success and excellence as it applies to obtaining jobs and maintaining skillsets for industry-related tasks and creates personalized learning experiences suited for each student’s future career pathway in laboratory safety management. EHSM strives to make community connections with socio-cultural content in the workplaces through advisory committees, industry partners, and professional organizations setting the standards for environmental health and safety compliance for the United States and international regulatory bodies.  

Plus select one of the following:

EHSM 240                            Cooperative Work Experience            1-4                                                                                

EHSM 250                            EHS Field Applications                            3                                                                                                      

Total Required : 19-22