Building EHS bench strength and ensuring a steady supply of safety "talent" going forward is going to be challenge, given safety staff cutbacks, reliance on consultants and contractors, and not much interest among U.S. students in careers in safety. Expect to see more traditional safety work (Training, audits, accident investigations, recognition activities, communication services and goal-setting) being assumed by line workers.

I quite often hear the lament from the safety fraternity that "my manager doesn't understand me ...".To this I reply - when one understands the myriad of demands placed upon C-level personnel, why should it be incumbent upon them to "learn the language of safety (environment, labour laws, accounting, IP, IT, etc). Rather, if safety pro's are so keen to have their voices heard, the responsibility should be on them to learn the language of management, and place their commentary in the management context.