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Environmental health practitioner

Alternative titles for this job include Environmental health officer

Environmental health practitioners make sure that legal standards are met in food safety, housing, public health, and air and water quality.

Average salary (a year)

£27,000 Starter

to

£50,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

35 to 40

You could work

evenings / weekends on a rota

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

University

You can study for a degree qualification approved by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

If you already have a degree in a related subject, you could get into environmental health through an accredited postgraduate course.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More Information

Apprenticeship

You can apply to do an Environmental Health Practitioner Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This usually takes 4 years to complete and combines on-the-job training with academic study at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You may be able to start as an environmental health technician and study for a part-time environmental health degree while you're working.

More Information

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health for professional development opportunities.

Further information

You can find more about how to become an environmental health practitioner from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • analytical thinking skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
  • active listening skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • excellent written communication skills
  • maths knowledge
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

Restrictions and Requirements

You're likely to need a full, clean driving licence for this job.

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As an environmental health practitioner, you could:

  • inspect businesses to check health and safety and food hygiene standards
  • investigate outbreaks of food poisoning and infectious disease
  • collect samples for laboratory testing, for example water quality
  • check houses to make sure they're safe for people to live in
  • enforce environmental health laws and give evidence in court
  • investigate accidents at work
  • follow up on reports of spills and contamination events
  • provide education and advice to community groups and businesses

Working environment

You could work in an office, in the countryside or in a business.

Your working environment may be dirty and you'll travel often.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could work as an employee or consultant in:

  • local authorities
  • government departments
  • retailers and hotel chains
  • regulators and enforcement agencies
  • the NHS
  • the armed services
  • university research
  • charities and international development organisations

You could progress to supervisory or management positions.

You could also work towards Chartered Status, which recognises your skills and expertise in the profession.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for an environmental health practitioner right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Access to HE - Science

  • Provider: Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC)
  • Start date: 09 September 2026
  • Location: Harrow

Access to HE (Science)

  • Provider: CAMBRIDGE REGIONAL COLLEGE
  • Start date: 01 September 2026
  • Location: Cambridge
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

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