You can get a safety job with no experience if you start on the first rung: safety duties in the job you already have, backed by a short course. In Switzerland, the KOPAS course for safety contact persons takes one to two days.[1] In Germany, companies with 50 or more employees must appoint safety representatives, and the accident insurers train them.[2][3]
Five steps that work in Switzerland, Germany and France, in this order:
- Take on safety duties where you work now.
- Complete the short entry course for that role.
- Choose the recognised qualification for your country.
- Add NEBOSH or IOSH if you want to work across borders.
- Collect evidence: talks you ran, documents you wrote.
Part 1: Can You Get a Safety Job With No Experience?
Yes, at entry level. Few employers hire a safety specialist without experience, but in all three countries safety duties go to people already on the team: a safety representative, a contact person for safety, a designated employee. That role is your first experience, and none of the first steps needs a degree.
Entry roles are hands-on: workplace inspections, toolbox talks, accident reports, and checking that machines are isolated with the right locks and tags, often from the site's lockout kits, before maintenance starts.
To become a safety coordinator with no experience, follow the same path: safety duties in your current team, the entry course, then the next coordinator vacancy.
Part 2: Entry Routes by Country
| Country | Start with no experience | Recognised qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | KOPAS contact person (1-2 days), then Safety Assistant ASGS (8 days, no admission requirements) | Specialist ASGS with federal diploma: vocational certificate (EFZ), Matura or degree, plus three to five years' work experience |
| Germany | Safety representative (Sicherheitsbeauftragter), trained by the accident insurer | Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit (Sifa): engineer, technician or master craftsman, two years in that trade, plus the Sifa course |
| France | Employee designated for risk prevention (salarié désigné compétent) | BUT HSE (three-year degree) or IPRP registration: relevant degree or five years in prevention |
| International | IOSH Managing Safely (3 days, no prior safety experience) | NEBOSH International General Certificate (no entry requirements) |
Best Practice: Ask for the role first, then the course. The role gives you experience from day one, and in Germany the accident insurer pays for the training while your wages continue.[3]
Part 3: Switzerland: From KOPAS to Specialist ASGS
Suva sets out four training levels for safety staff (ASGS: Arbeitssicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz):[4]
- KOPAS, contact person for safety: one to two days. If your company belongs to an industry solution (Branchenlösung), the solution's sponsor runs the course.[1]
- Safety Assistant ASGS: eight days, no admission requirements, Suva certificate.[5]
- Specialist ASGS with federal diploma (eidgenössischer Fachausweis): 26 course days over twelve months. Admission needs a vocational certificate (EFZ) with more than three years' work experience, a Matura with at least five, or a degree with at least three.[6]
- Expert ASGS with advanced federal diploma.
The EKAS places the Specialist ASGS at the level of the Sicherheitsfachmann or Sicherheitsfachfrau with EKAS certificate.[7] Specialists work in companies of every sector or for Suva, SECO and the cantonal labour inspectorates.[6]
Part 4: Germany: From Safety Representative to Sifa
The first step is the safety representative (Sicherheitsbeauftragter). Companies with 50 or more employees must appoint them; companies with 21 to 49 employees must do so where the risk assessment shows a particular hazard. The role supports the employer: checking that guards and personal protective equipment are in place and used, and pointing out hazards.[2] The accident insurer (Berufsgenossenschaft or Unfallkasse) provides the training.[3]
The professional role is the Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit (Sifa). It requires a qualification as engineer, technician or master craftsman (Meister), at least two years of work in that trade, and the safety training the accident insurers offer.[8] If you have a trade, the safety representative role is where you gain safety experience before the Sifa course.
Part 5: France: Designated Employee, BUT HSE, IPRP
Since 1 July 2012, every employer in France must designate one or more competent employees for occupational risk prevention (Code du travail, article L. 4644-1). It can be someone already in the company, and they receive health and safety training on request.[9] Ask for that designation: it is the French entry route.
For a diploma, the BUT HSE (hygiène, sécurité, environnement) is a three-year national degree after the baccalauréat.[10] To work as an external IPRP (intervenant en prévention des risques professionnels), you register with the DREETS and need an engineering degree, two years of higher education in health, safety or work organisation, three years in a related science, or five years of experience in prevention.[11]
Part 6: NEBOSH and IOSH: No Entry Requirements
Both are recognised across borders and accept beginners:
- IOSH Managing Safely: three days, no prior safety experience, and the certificate does not expire.[12]
- NEBOSH International General Certificate: no entry requirements, at least 63 taught hours plus about 40 hours of private study, taken through an accredited Learning Partner. NEBOSH recommends English at IELTS 6.0 or higher.[13]
They add to the national route; they do not replace it. Where the law sets the qualification, as for the Sifa in Germany, only the national one counts.[8] For a side-by-side, see our guide to safety certifications in Europe.
Part 7: Build Evidence Before the Interview
An employer hiring a beginner looks for proof you can do the work. Three things count:
- Toolbox talks you ran. Volunteer for the weekly safety briefing. Our free Safety Slide toolbox talks are ready-made PowerPoint decks for it; for building sites, see these toolbox talk topics for construction.
- Documents you wrote. A risk assessment, a work permit, a lockout procedure for one machine. Learn the steps of lockout tagout first: isolating energy is part of most maintenance work.
- Skills from your current job. Leading a shift, training new staff, quality checks, writing reports. Name each on your CV with one example.
Part 8: Where The Lock Box Fits
For a newcomer, our most useful resources are free. The Safety Slide talks cover your briefings, and our free safety templates hold the documents a first safety job involves, a risk assessment worksheet, work permits and a lockout procedure, to download and practise with in PDF, Word or Excel.
When your first role includes lockout tagout, our lockout tagout kits group the devices by task. The Small Lockout Kit (two padlocks, two hasps, two tags) works as a personal kit; the Valve & Electrical Lockout Kit (four padlocks, breaker and valve lockouts, twelve tags) covers both energy types in a training session.
Setting Up Lockout in Your First Safety Role?
Contact The Lock Box with the machines and energy sources on your site, and we will suggest the devices for each isolation point.
References
- Suva. So werden Sie Kontaktperson ASGS (KOPAS). https://www.
suva. (accessed 2026)ch/ de- ch/ praevention/ beratung- kurse- und- angebote/ weiterbildung- kurse- und- lehrgaenge/ ausbildungsstufen- sibe/ kontaktperson- asgs - Federal Ministry of Justice. Sozialgesetzbuch VII, § 22 Sicherheitsbeauftragte. https://www.
gesetze- (accessed 2026)im- internet. de/ sgb_ 7/ _ _ 22. html - Federal Ministry of Justice. Sozialgesetzbuch VII, § 23 Aus- und Fortbildung. https://www.
gesetze- (accessed 2026)im- internet. de/ sgb_ 7/ _ _ 23. html - Suva. Aus- und Weiterbildung für Sicherheitsbeauftragte. https://www.
suva. (accessed 2026)ch/ de- ch/ praevention/ beratung- kurse- und- angebote/ weiterbildung- kurse- und- lehrgaenge/ ausbildungsstufen- sibe - Suva. So werden Sie Sicherheitsassistentin / Sicherheitsassistent ASGS. https://www.
suva. (accessed 2026)ch/ de- ch/ praevention/ beratung- kurse- und- angebote/ weiterbildung- kurse- und- lehrgaenge/ ausbildungsstufen- sibe/ assistent- asgs - Suva. So werden Sie Spezialistin / Spezialist ASGS. https://www.
suva. (accessed 2026)ch/ de- ch/ praevention/ beratung- kurse- und- angebote/ weiterbildung- kurse- und- lehrgaenge/ ausbildungsstufen- sibe/ spezialist- asgs - EKAS. Sibe oder KOPAS: eine Klärung der Begriffe, EKAS-Trägerschaftstagung, 11 November 2025, slide 3. https://www.
ekas. admin. ch/ fileadmin/ Dokumente/ Tagungen/ Traegerschaftstagung/ 2025/ Referate/ DE/ TT02_ Montandon_ Sibe_ oder_ KOPAS_ _ eine_ Klaerung_ der_ Begriffe. pdf - DGUV. Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit (requirements under the ASiG and DGUV Vorschrift 2). https://www.
dguv. (accessed 2026)de/ de/ praevention/ aus- weiterbildung/ fasi/ index. jsp - INRS. Salarié compétent (Code du travail, articles L. 4644-1 and R. 4644-1). https://www.
inrs. (accessed 2026)fr/ demarche/ salarie- competent/ ce- qu- il- faut- retenir. html - Onisep. BUT hygiène sécurité environnement. https://www.
onisep. (accessed 2026)fr/ ressources/ univers- formation/ formations/ post- bac/ but- hygiene- securite- environnement- parcours- science- du- danger- et- management- des- risques- professionnels- technologiques- et- environnementaux - INRS. Intervenant en prévention des risques professionnels (IPRP). https://www.
inrs. (accessed 2026)fr/ demarche/ iprp/ intervenant- prevention- risques- professionnels. html - IOSH. Managing Safely. https://iosh.
com/ (accessed 2026)qualifications- and- courses/ courses/ awareness- courses/ managing- safely - NEBOSH. International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. https://www.
nebosh. (accessed 2026)org. uk/ qualifications/ international- general- certificate/