Spotlighting Canada’s next safety leaders

Some safety careers start long before the first job title appears on a business card. For many of Canada’s most promising health and safety professionals, the spark is lit at university or college – in a research project, a co‑op placement, or a front‑line role where they see firsthand what good (and bad) safety looks like. The Minerva Rising Star Award exists to find those people early and help them shine.

Minerva Canada has sponsored the Rising Star Award at Canada’s Safest Employers Awards for five years, as part of its mission to strengthen health and safety education across Canadian post‑secondary institutions. Larry Masotti, president of Minerva Canada Safety Management Education, says the organization’s “primary mission is to reach out to post-secondary Canadian universities and colleges and provide them with health and safety education resources,” because too many students are still coming out of engineering and business programs with little or no H&S background.

The award: leadership in health and safety, wherever you’re learning or working

At its core, the Rising Star Award recognizes students and recent graduates who have taken a clear leadership role in health and safety – in school, in the workplace, or in volunteer or part‑time roles. One of the key criteria, Masotti explains, is “a student who has either provided a leadership role in the workplace or in their school related to a health and safety situation, an incident, or an initiative.”

That leadership might look like:

• Driving a new safety initiative or campaign
• Leading or contributing to a significant safety project or research effort
• Responding constructively to a safety incident and helping change how things are done
• Championing psychological health and safety or inclusion as part of a safer workplace or campus

The key is that applicants can show how they applied health and safety principles and made a tangible impact on people, systems or culture.

Who can apply?

The Rising Star Award is open to a deliberately broad group. “The award is open to all students in Canadian universities and colleges and graduates within the last two years,” says Masotti. That Canadian focus keeps the spotlight on people who are just coming out of school and starting their careers here.

Undergrads, diploma students, co‑op students, graduate students and recent alumni in a wide range of disciplines can all be strong candidates if health and safety is central to their work and impact.

From recognition to real opportunities: Alyssa’s story

Past Rising Star winner Alyssa Grocutt shows how recognition through this award can open doors. After receiving the award, she continued her work in health and safety research and education and is now helping Minerva plan and deliver a learning forum at the University of Calgary. This year’s forum, Masotti notes, will be “research-to-practice oriented… what are we learning and how are we making it practical,” and Grocutt has been “planning the agenda” and inviting academics, industry professionals and graduate students to take part.

Her journey illustrates what the Rising Star Award is meant to do: not just add a line to a CV, but connect emerging leaders with a national network of educators, employers and safety professionals.

Why it matters to your career – and to employers

For students and recent grads, the Rising Star Award is a way to “differentiate yourself in the marketplace,” Masotti says, by showing both leadership potential and an ability “to understand some of the fundamental principles in health and safety and incorporate them into your work.” Winners are recognized on stage at Canada’s Safest Employers Awards in front of organizations from across the country and profiled through Canadian Occupational Safety’s print and digital channels. It’s a high‑profile launchpad at the very start of a career.

For employers, nominating a student or young professional is a way to acknowledge the people who are already making operations safer and to strengthen the next generation of safety leadership in their industry.

How to step forward – or nominate someone you know

Submissions for the Minerva Rising Star Award are open now, with a deadline of May 8.

To learn more, review the criteria and submit an application or nomination, visit safestemployers.com.

If you’re a student or recent graduate who has helped make learning or working environments safer – or you employ someone who has – this is your opportunity to share that story on a national stage and join a growing community of Canada’s next safety leaders.