The Benefit of Certificate Courses

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If you have a thirst for knowledge and a desire to grow in your field, certificate courses could be the answer you’ve been looking for. Continuing education is a crucial part of achieving your career goals, whatever industry you’re a part of. But when it comes to being a safety professional across industries, getting your certificates is essential.

There are many reasons for continuing your education with a certificate course. Whatever your exact reasons are, your aspirations and goals have brought you here to learn more about the incredible opportunity available to you in the form of online certificate courses. You’ll enjoy many benefits as a result of pursuing your dreams and advancing in your professional safety career with Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit courses.

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15 Benefits of Certificate Courses

Here are 15 benefits of certificate courses that can make a huge difference for your career and life:

1. Gain a Competitive Advantage

Set yourself apart from your competitors by receiving advanced training in your field. A safety certificate shows other professionals in your field that you have a true and lasting commitment to understanding your position and excelling in your sector. And with the ever-changing landscape of safety across industries, showing this commitment is important and valuable.

The safety profession is competitive, so setting yourself apart with the right certificates will only benefit you in the long run. Without certificates, hirers may think you possess outdated skills. Getting your CEU credits now will help you one day achieve that valuable certificate.

2. Boost Your Efficiency

Whether you’re a business owner or part of someone else’s company, continuing your education with CEU courses can help you lay a solid foundation for work ethic, performance and efficiency. The advanced knowledge, information and training you’ll receive from these classes will provide you with cutting-edge strategies and tools for the safety industry. You can use these newfound skills to perform your work tasks with greater efficiency, which will benefit your entire workforce.

Even if your courses take you a while to complete, you can use the knowledge gained right away. You can see immediate improvements to your efficiency if you start implementing what you learn in your courses.

3. Increasing Your Income Earning Potential

In most cases, the effort and time you put into getting your professional certificates will lead to increased income and greater earnings. These higher wages and salaries directly result from your increased knowledge and necessary abilities in the safety profession. Clients and employers understand your newfound knowledge comes with a price — both time and money — and will compensate you accordingly. Therefore, you can feel good investing in CEU education now — doing so will likely pay off in the long run.

Grow in Your Skills and Knowledge

4. Grow in Your Skills and Knowledge

As you may have already gathered from the benefits listed above, CEU safety professionals can gain access to new skills and knowledge. This is one of the main cornerstones to all the benefits that appear on this list.

You hone your current work habits and sharpen your abilities when you take certificate courses. And as you increase your competencies, you may have the opportunity to try something new on the job that will help you advance your career and make yourself even more useful to your employers and co-workers.

5. Establish Your Professional Credibility

Many companies, government agencies and nonprofits want to involve themselves with individuals who have specific certificates from recognized programs. In some cases, these entities may even face a requirement to do this when hiring or buying a service. Taking CEU safety courses and getting your certificates shows your commitment to professionalism and upholding industry standards.

Having these qualities will boost your professional prestige and credibility in your current circles and with your future clients. This truth puts even more value on your certificates, as they can help you achieve greater professional success throughout your career as long as you commit to continuing your education through CEU credit courses.

6. Learn Skills That Are in High Demand

Standard graduate degrees are helpful in finding a job, but they may not give you the specific skills your ideal employer is looking for. Online safety courses focus on specific topics or skills within those broader areas of study. With such certificates under your belt, you can acquire expertise in your field that employers are desperately looking for. With the right CEU safety certificates, you can enhance your credentials and bolster your chances of success in your industry.

7. Make Progress Toward Achieving Your Certificate

If you’re at the beginning of your CEU credit journey, you may feel like the finish line is out of sight. Getting a certificate requires dedication, time and effort. Stay positive, because every hour you put into your online CEU education courses is one hour closer to holding that certificate in your hands.

You can feel confident signing up for an online course knowing that completing it is a wise decision. If you’re looking to advance your safety professional career, you’ll need to take the right certificate courses anyway. Make progress now by chipping away at them, and you’ll be that much closer to achieving your goal.

Work at Your Own Pace

8. Work at Your Own Pace

Everyone learns differently. Some people like in-person classes, and others enjoy learning from their computer desk. Some people can crank out a course in a short amount of time. Others need to space out their sessions to retain what they’re learning and increase their knowledge of the subject matter. The benefit of certificate courses is that you get to work at your own pace.

This ability means you can gain your certificate in a time frame that works for you. If you have a short-term goal, you can put in the effort quickly to get your certificate. If your goal is more long-term, you can take your time. The speed at which you work is in your control.

9. Enjoy a More Flexible Schedule

Going off the last benefit, the ability to control how you learn means you get to unlock your schedule to its fullest potential. When it comes to a CEU online education, you get to pick when and where you learn. As long as you have access to the internet, you can get your CEU credit hours in. This process can look different for everyone, from getting an hour in after the kids go to bed to watching a lecture on your lunch break at work.

The options are endless, so taking a CEU course online is sure to work for you.

10. Save Money on Your Path Toward Career Advancement

When they want to advance their careers, many people seek post-graduate degrees, including master’s and doctoral degrees. While these types of continuing education can be helpful for many, it is widely known that they are extremely expensive to attain. They can lead some people to experience crippling debt and others to avoid taking that next step at all.

With safety CEU courses online, you can save money as you advance your career. These courses are far more affordable than post-graduate classes and are still fantastic options when you want to take that next step in your education. Keep more money in your pocket and gain more skills and knowledge along the way when you take CEU credit courses to achieve a safety professional certificate.

If you do choose to pursue a degree in OHS or EHS (Associates, Bachelors or higher), often IACET-accredited CEUs may be transferred to academic credits through universities such as Columbia Southern University and Waldorf University. This may provide you with transferrable credits and save you time and money by satisfying some of their lower level requirements.

11. Focus on Specific Areas of Improvement

Whether there’s a specific safety skill you’re looking to hone, a managerial skill you want to acquire or any other expertise you can think of, online courses help you obtain the exact knowledge and abilities you’re looking for. As a safety professional, you’re always seeking to fine-tune your skill set. The key to being successful is by getting the desired certificate to advance your career. The only way you can do this is by taking the right safety courses to get you there.

Enjoy a Positive Career Impact

12. Enjoy a Positive Career Impact

The time may come — or it may have already arrived — when you want to change career paths. Many people seek new opportunities throughout their careers, whether they’re just beginning or have been in the same industry niche for decades. The present is the best time to take a leap of faith when it comes to your career and future. Taking online courses could help you shift where you are in your industry and set you on a path more closely aligned with your career goals.

13. Become a Part of Two New Communities

When you start taking online classes to achieve your safety certificate, you become a part of two new communities. The first community is one full of other people like you who are on the path of personal growth and career advancement. Taking classes and communicating with like-minded individuals can be an encouragement and help along the way.

The second community includes people who have already received their certificates and are now in the mentor role. These are the people who teach your courses and instruct you on your journey. These teachers will help you achieve your best, and when you get your certificate, you can thank them for investing their time and effort into instructing the classes that gave you your valuable knowledge and skills.

14. Experience a Boost in Confidence

One of the best ways to spark your career is a confidence boost. Healthy confidence is one of the many keys to being successful in any career path, especially in the safety industry. But another important factor is that your confidence should be rooted in reality. When you take online CEU education courses, you’re gaining real industry knowledge that can help you perform better on the job. You’ll have real confidence in your knowledge and abilities to be a true safety professional.

15. Become a Better Mentor to Others

As a safety professional, you know one of your most important roles is keeping others safe. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by teaching valuable techniques to industry workers so they can be safe on the job site, whatever their sector.

Take the right online safety courses to earn certificates that establish you as a trusted safety mentor in your field. You can then teach and lead others toward safer industry practices or even lead a safety team toward new protocol and regulation compliance. There are many possible ways you can become a mentor to others, but most of them start by taking the right online courses.

What Constitutes One CEU?

The International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) is an organization that is the authority on certificate courses and set forth the standards for course accreditation. This group makes the rules when it comes to how you will achieve your safety professional certificate, and one of the concepts they’ve created is the Continuing Education Unit.

Ten contact hours of participation in an accredited online training course under responsible, certified instruction equates to one CEU. You’ll also need to complete the entire course, pass the final exam and complete the final course evaluation to officially receive the CEUs you’ve earned.

How Many CEUs Do Safety Professionals Need Each Year?

Some certifications require maintenance of said certification by maintaining a certain number of CEUs. The appropriate number depends upon the accrediting agency. For example, NASP’s Master Safety Professional (MSP) and Certified Safety Director (CSD) require 4.8 CEUs over a three-year period, so be sure you stay up to date with your online training courses to reach that mark.

Satisfy CEU Credits With National Association of Safety Professionals (NASP) Certificate Courses

When you’re ready to begin taking online courses to get your required CEUs for your safety certificate, you need to make sure you’re taking classes from a reputable provider. Many employers will notice where you got your certificate when you apply for a job and are more likely to hire you if the name they see is in good standing within the industry.

NASP is a highly respected and reputable course provider within the safety industry. NASP offers a full list of courses including the Safety Professional Certificate, the Certified Safety Manager, the Certified Environmental Manager and many more. You’re sure to find a course that aligns with your career trajectory.

Besides being the best source for the safety courses you’ve been looking for, many of NASP’s courses provide all the required CEUs needed for a year to maintain your certificate based on standards set forth by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP).

View NASP Safety Certificate Courses and Earn Safety CEU Credits Today

View NASP Safety Certificate Courses and Earn Safety CEU Credits Today

NASP is here to help you achieve your professional goals. We invite you to browse our online courses to find the one that is right for you and the advancement of your professional career in the safety industry. We even offer live courses to help you achieve your career dreams if live education settings are more your style.

Please contact us today for more information about how we can help you get safety-certified and stay certified. Choose NASP — the practical approach to workplace safety.

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About the Author

Pete

Pete Nemmers

Pete Nemmers serves as NASP’s Director of Training Development, bringing a wealth of expertise to the organization. With a background rooted in safety and training, Pete plays a pivotal role in shaping the training programs offered by NASP. Pete ensures that NASP remains at the forefront of safety education, equipping professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate and excel in the dynamic field of safety.
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