CRST Exam Eligibility

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CRST Exam Eligibility

 

How to be Certified CRST?

Here, we will take an in-depth look at the Canadian Registered Safety Technician / CRST certification and review the CRST eligibility guidelines, pathways to certification, exam process, costs, and more. All the information we review is available on BCRSP website under the “CRST eligibility” link, so make sure to check it out for the most up to date details. 

Is CRST suited for you? 

The best place to begin is by figuring out What is CRST and who is the CRST certification most suited for. Here is a quote from the BCRSP website that best describes this:

A CRST supports a safe working environment by maintaining OHS administrative processes, conducting training and using a range of state-of-the-art tools, processes and common practice solutions to OHS risks. They oversee and drive monitoring and compliance in relation to technical and behavioral risk controls.

There is more detail in this description that you can find on the BCRSP if you are interested. 

 

CRST certification overview

The following pages will give you a good understanding on what you need to do to prepare for the CRST examination.

Let’s walk you through this timeline designed which outlines the CRST certification process to give you a better sense of the process.

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As you can see on the left hand side, CRPS starts with the CRST eligibility process, followed by the application and registration processes, writing the CRST exam, and finally concluding with the completed certification. We’ll go through each stage of this diagram in details in the following pages.
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Are you eligible to apply for CRST Exam?

 

To begin, looking at the eligibility criteria, candidates can choose three different pathways to apply for the CRST.

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CRST Eligibility – Pathway A 

 

Pathway A is for those candidates, who have successfully completed a one-year OHS certificate program from a recognized educational institution, for example, Ryerson University. 

They should also have at least twelve months of OHS work experience with at least 35% OHS duties immediately before submitting an application. Just to give you an example, let’s say you are an HR manager in your current workplace and as a part of your job description, you deal with health and safety matters in your workplace, things like return-to-work procedures, OHS training, rewarding for safety, and many other tasks. Although your organization already has a separate OHS manager, you could say that overall, you spend 35% of your job supporting the OHS department.

 It’s worth noting that the required OHS experience must total to 12 months and have been obtained over the previous 24 months as validated by the Qualification Review Committee (QRC).

CRST Eligibility – Pathway B

Next, Pathway B requires candidates to have completed a two-year, equivalent to 900 hours or 60 credit hours, non-OHS formal education program from a recognized educational institution OR have achieved journeyman status in a trade.

These candidates should have completed professional development courses or training related to the CRST Examination Blueprint competency categories from health and safety management to ergonomics, industrial hygiene, fire safety, machine safety, and many others before submitting an application.

They should also have obtained a minimum of twelve months OHS work experience with at least 35% of it being related to OHS duties. Similar to pathway A, the OHS experience must be total to 12 months, and have been obtained over the previous 24 months.

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CRST Eligibility – Pathway C

 

And last, Pathway C is for graduates of OHS programs from a recognized educational institution.

These candidates do not require previous experience and they are eligible to write the CRST certification exam immediately upon graduation. The program must be on the approved list published by BCRSP so please make sure to verify.

There are two key differences between pathway C and the others. First is that they do not require any workplace experience; and second upon obtaining 4 years of relevant OHS experience at a professional level, these candidates will be eligible to apply for the CRST certification. This is because pathway C has a greater education-based requirement in comparison to A and B.

 

Application to become CRST

 

Once you determine whether you are eligible, you should submit your application to the BCRSP who will review your profile and determine whether or not you qualify to write the mandatory certification examination.  

For applicants whose first language is neither English nor French, they must submit documentation verifying proof of language proficiency. 

International applicants may also provide additional documentation, such as academic credentials that have been translated to English or French and can be verified by an official translator. International credentials must be submitted to a Canadian Credentialing Agency prior to application submission.

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Documents for CRST Certification application

 

Once your eligibility has been determined and the required documentation has been prepared, you are ready to apply! Applicants must complete an application form and submit it along with all supporting documentation. They will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee to the BCRSP for processing.
 
 The application form requires details concerning formal education, professional development, and related experience. In addition, a reference questionnaire and practice questionnaire must be completed by individuals who have a sound knowledge of the applicant’s work performance, such as a direct employer or manager. It’s important to ensure that all information submitted in the application along with any required documentation is accurate without any errors. Make sure that you review the eligibility requirements before submitting an application as the application fee is non-refundable. You should complete all the forms properly to avoid any delay.

CRST eligibility Peer interview

 

In the meantime, after submitting your application, your file May Be selected for an interview. These are usually hosted by Regional Screening Committee volunteer(s) who is a certified CRST. A volunteer certified CRST will contact you to mutually arrange a time and a location, depending on where both parties are located.

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CRST certification timeline

 

From the time of submission, it will take roughly three to five months to hear back from the BCRSP. During this time, their offices will go through all your documentation and perform the necessary due diligence required. A common question our team receives is “why does the process take so long?” and the answer is simply that there’s several steps which the BCRSP has to go through to verify your documents, confirm your references, and process the information. Therefore, to reiterate this one more time, in order to streamline the experience, ensure that all aspects of your application are complete before submitting! Once a candidate has been approved to take the examination, they will be sent an examination authorization email with the exam scheduling information.

CRST Examination Timeline

 

After being approved to sit the CRST examination, applicants have twelve months to make their first attempt. However, following the first attempt, they will only have another 12 months for the second and third attempts in case they do not achieve a passing grade. This is very important to consider when planning for your exam, but don’t worry we’ll review examples in the follow slides.
 
 Remember that the dates for writing the CRST exam can vary. There are usually 3 testing periods throughout the year as listed on the slide, but make sure to check the BCRSP’s official schedule for accurate times.

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Number of attempts to write the CRST test

You might decide to write the exam either immediately or at the end of the 12-month window. In terms of when would be the best time to sit the exams, it’s really up to your preparation, schedule, and the exam center availability.


 
Now, let’s take a look at how the attempt timeframes work in more detail.

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Watch for the CRST exam timeline

 

Overall it could be said that you have 24 months and 3 attempts to write the CRST exam. However, this is only possible if you write the first exam at the end of the first year. The reason for this is because, following the first attempt you will have 12 months to use your other 2 attempts. Let’s take a look at some examples.

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Two years timeline might change!

This slide shows the case which you should follow to maximize your timeframe. In this example, you should write the exam towards the end of the first 12 months. This way, you will have another 12 months to for your remaining 2 attempts.

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Two years timeline could be shorter!

Assume that you write the exam 3 months after your application has been approved and you were not successful in meeting the grade requirement. You will only have another 12 months from that point to sit the 2nd and 3rd exams.

 Therefore, in this example, your overall timeframe would be 15 months for all three attempts. Keep in mind, that you will be required to pay $175 for every attempt.

 

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How long do you need to prepare for the CRST exam? 

Moving on to exam preparation, now you can get a sense of why the timing and planning aspects are important. If you come with a strong background and have already prepared well for your examination, you could sit the exam almost immediately after your application is approved. On the other hand, if you haven’t studied or aren’t comfortable with the material yet, it could be worth taking the exam later in your 2 year window to maximize your study time.
 
 As you can see, we are using a preparation window of 2 to 4 months between having your application approved and sitting the exam as an example.

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Writing the CRST exam

Going back to the procedures, all the examinations are written via Computer Based Testing (CBT) and approved candidates can select a date and time for their examination based on the exam centre availabilities.

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Waiting for CRST test results

Following your exam, it usually takes 2-3 months to receive the results. SO make sure you factor these gaps in to your plan.

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CRST Certification Costs

In this slide, I would like to focus on the expenses. The eligibility application is about $525, unless the applicant has other similar designations such as CSB or NEBOSH from other countries, in which case they will pay only $75.00.
 
 Each exam attempt will cost $175 for registration as well as approximately $170 for exam centre fees. After passing the exam, you will be required to pay $250 for certification fees and processing, and this fee will renew annually at the beginning of each year after the first year.

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CRST Exam Crash Course

If you’re interested in learning more you can visit our website at www.CRSTcrst.ca, as well as follow us on our social media platforms listed in the description. Aside from our CRST prep course, we will continue to put out a wide range of content discussing details regarding the certifications, career development, and more!

We’ve included sample clips of our CRST test under the crash course tab for you to take a look at and get a better sense of our CRST study materilas. Our team also creates some great videos surrounding various topics related to how to be a certified registered safety professional found under the Frequently Asked Questions tab, so be sure to check it out! 

CRST CRASH COURSE CONTENT

Our CRST prep course has been designed based on the BCRSP study materials in order to give you a set structure that’s easy to follow and effective. Our CRST prep course includes more than 8 hours of video lessons with over 500 slides. The videos are captioned and organized to follow the CRST study materials listed on BCRSP website. Our CRST prep course includes over 1500 CRST sample test which are spread out across each module to test your understanding and comprehension for the CRST test. We’ve also included a timed sample CRST final exam made to reflect what candidates should expect to see on their CRST test.

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