“A career in Environmental Health is limitless” – Environmental Health professionals share their passion for the profession

Two Hertfordshire Environmental Health professionals have shared their passion for their work as they look to inspire the next generation into the profession.

Chartered Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) Cheryll Brown and Jo Smith have dedicated their careers to supporting their communities and protecting public health.

They are also dedicated to shining a light on the importance of the role of environmental health professionals and inspiring the next generation into the profession as Career Ambassadors for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

Cheryll has been trained for over 25 years and has spent the last 23 years of her career working at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. She is currently Team Leader (Public Health & Protection) at the local authority.

She believes environmental health offers a truly valuable career choice and has not regretted her decision to work in the profession for a minute.

“I really wanted a career where I wasn’t solely office-based,” Cheryll explained. “I wanted to get out and about and I realised when I looked into environmental health as a career, that it would support that desire.

“Environmental health is a career that has kept me very busy – I get to help people; I get to make positive change. I really enjoy getting to help and support businesses – it’s very fulfilling.

“A lot of people say knowing me personally they wouldn’t place me in this career, but I feel confident in the work I do and I’m happy to take on any challenge. There’s a lot of problem solving and I’ve always enjoyed doing that – it suits me down to the ground.”

Jo, Private Sector Housing Manager at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, was inspired to choose environmental health as a career after doing work experience in school. She said she loves the variety of the role and says it requires a range of skills.

“I love that it is so varied and that it uses so many skills, both hard and soft,” she explained. “You need your technical knowledge, your legal knowhow, but you also need those skills of being able to talk to people, to guide them and to educate.

“If people work with us, rather than against us, it leads to a much happier relationship for all concerned, so you need to be able to speak to them at their level. So I say as soon as you have a problem you have to let me know and then we can sort it out together rather than them sticking their head in the sand.

“It’s trying to convince people that yes, we are enforcers, but we are also educators. We want to help people. The proactive work we do is so important as if you were to lose that aspect you would end up with more issues in the long run, as people wouldn’t understand who we are, what we do and what the rules are.”

As Career Ambassadors for CIEH both Jo and Cheryll attend careers fairs and other events to share their experiences and talk to people about the rewarding and enjoyable career path that environmental health offers.

“I do worry that we’re declining as a profession, just when we are going to be needed most,” Jo said. “There is great potential in people coming up through local authorities and they’ve not even considered environmental health as a career option.

“We need to champion environmental health and shout about our achievements because we do some hugely valuable and important work. If we weren’t here communities would feel it.”

Cheryll added: “We definitely need more young people coming in – you can see numbers dropping off and recruitment is getting harder and harder. That is why I’m passionate about being a career ambassador.

“When I talk to young people, I do talk about the variety in environmental health, but I also say that a career in environmental health is limitless; working in the private sector can take you anywhere in the world and working in local government give you so many opportunities.

“There are so many roles within local government and a background in environmental health also provides opportunities to move into senior leadership roles because of the many skills and knowledge you gain. Someone I went to college with on my course is now a chief executive of a council.”

Mark Elliott, President of CIEH, said environmental health offers a hugely diverse and fulfilling career and said Cheryll and Jo are great ambassadors for the profession.

He said: “I have spent almost my whole career working in environmental health and can wholeheartedly say it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching career and has led me to meet some fantastic people and help make a real difference.

“Both Cheryll and Jo are wonderful embodiments of the passion and dedication environmental health professionals have for the work they do, and it is great to see them passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm to the next generation of EHPs as CIEH Career Ambassadors.”

Find out more about a career in environmental health here: https://www.cieh.org/what-is-environmental-health/ 

CIEH Career Ambassadors attend schools and colleges to speak to pupils about the profession, attend career fairs and promote the profession online through webinars and social media.