Control Inspector: Job Profile and Role

Safety, excellent quality, addressing and fixing issues, and assessments are all part of various control inspector jobs in the UK. One of the most common jobs in this sector is the job of a quality control inspector who checks product quality. But you can also be an inspector in other sectors, such as health and safety and environmental health.

In this blog, we explore some of the different types of control inspectors in the UK and outline which qualifications and skills you need to get into the respective jobs. To help you decide on your potential future career, we also take a look at typical daily tasks in control inspection and give you some tips to excel in and advance your career.

Short Summary

• As a control inspector, you tackle various tasks which can include quality control, health and safety, and overall inspection.
• As a control inspector, you are in charge of root cause analysis, especially when you are asked to check quality aspects and issues.
• As a control inspector, you may be asked to take care of training and guidance where you impart your knowledge and advice to a company’s employees.

Job description

As a control inspector, you can have different and varied responsibilities, depending on your specialisation and the field you are working in. In a lot of cases, controlling a product’s quality will be a daily task, be it in quality control, food safety, or building control. Here, you ensure that the implemented standards are met and adhere to all health and safety regulations. To ensure overall excellence and safety, you also tend to be in charge of process improvement support that can involve assessments and improvement measures. To ensure that everyone involved is on the same page as you, you give regular training and guidance in which you impart your knowledge and advice.

Responsibilities

• Inspection
• Quality Control
• Audit Preparation
• Health and Safety
• Root Cause Analysis
• Training and Guidance
• Compliance Monitoring
• Testing and Assessment
• Maintaining Proper Paperwork
• Supporting Process Improvements

Different types of Control Inspectors

• RSPCA Inspector
• Food Safety Inspector
• Quality Control Inspector
• Building Control Inspector
• Environmental Health Inspector

Salary

Since control inspection can come in different shapes, your annual salary mainly depends on your exact job. If you end up working as a quality control inspector, you can expect to earn between ￡21,000 and ￡31,000, whereas health and safety inspectors can earn between ￡31,000 and ￡49,000.

Similar annual salaries – partly slightly lower – are paid to food safety inspectors who earn between ￡24,000 and ￡39,000. If you work for the RSPCA, you can expect annual salaries ranging from ￡25,000 to ￡44,000. The following factors need to be at the back of your mind as well when you work in control inspection: your work experience and employment, your employer, and your location. 

Working Hours

Your working hours in control inspection typically range from 35 to 40 hours a week. Your job can be a classic 9 to 5 job which you work Mondays through Fridays. As you know by now, control inspection is a diverse sector. Therefore, it may not be unusual that shift work is part of your working hours.

This means that evening and weekend work will occur, albeit on a rota basis. Evening and weekend work can furthermore be a possibility if inspection deadlines have to be met. Unless training is part of the employees’ work time, you may have to factor in extra hours for this, including preparation and follow-up work.

Employers

There are several employment options when you want to work in control inspection. You can apply for a position with local and government authorities and you can equally go job hunting in the private sector. Your specialisation, your expertise, and your interests and values should be the main decider on where you end up working. Also, if in-house employment is not the right choice for you – either short-term or long term – you can become your own employer and look into control inspection consultancy work.

Qualifications

One thing we can certainly tell you regarding the needed qualifications is that you will have to complete your secondary education. GCSEs tend to be entry requirements for apprenticeships and college courses in which you train to become a control inspector. Note that the GCSE number and pass grades vary.

College courses tend to require both fewer GCSEs and lower grades, whereas both apprenticeships and university courses have higher entry rules. Where university courses are concerned, you can also enter with the equivalent A levels which you sit after your GCSEs. Which direction your education can take is something we look at later on in this blog.

UK Apprenticeship Hierarchy

We always tell you which apprenticeships you can undertake to train for several jobs. But what does an apprenticeship entail, and where are the differences between various apprenticeships? Let’s have a quick look. There are four categories of apprenticeships in the UK: an intermediate apprenticeship, an advanced apprenticeship, a higher apprenticeship, and a degree apprenticeship. 

You can start an intermediate apprenticeship at the age of 16 after you have finished your secondary education. This apprenticeship qualifies you to enter an advanced apprenticeship for which you also need several years of work experience. A higher apprenticeship, on the other hand, is the equivalent to the first year of Bachelor’s degree studies or a foundation degree. The highest apprenticeship is a degree apprenticeship. It comes with tight entry requirements and prior work experience. 

Skills

Which exact skills are expected of you depends on your employer’s needs. Considering the scope of control inspection jobs, this makes it even more vital that you check each job post’s skill section carefully and thoroughly. Nonetheless, there are a few competencies you will certainly benefit from when you work as a control inspector in the UK, some of which we look at in this section.

Attention to Detail

A keen eye and strong attention to detail are important if you want to perform well and successfully. Among other things, you are in charge of quality checks. Therefore, you need not only pay very close attention to whatever it is you are checking. You also need to be able to spot deviations, flaws, and less-than-perfect standards at once. With this competency at your disposal, you can then advance to planning, developing, and implementing improvement measures.

Teaching Skills

Part of your job will likely be the conduction of training and guidance sessions. Being the expert in your field is all well and good but your knowledge must be complemented by strong teaching skills. Invest time and research in engaging teaching techniques and exciting and also entertaining presentation methods. It never hurts to engage your students – aka a company’s employees, directors, and possibly stakeholders – in your “lessons” since this ensures a better grasp and understanding of the subject at hand.

Communication

No surprises here – communication skills – at least, for now – round off our skill section. Be it written communication when composing and answering emails, reports, or other documentation, addressing issues, and/or discussing improvement measures: strong communication, both written and verbal, are essential if you want to succeed in your control inspection job. Keep in mind that all communication should be as precise and clear as possible to avoid further problems and issues.

Career Path

Step number 1 on your career ladder in control inspection is your education, followed by an entry-level position, further training, and work experience. The combination of these things enables you to progress to higher/more senior positions in which you hold more responsibilities – and where you may have to work more hours and earn more. Managerial roles are a typical possibility into which you can get promoted after about five years of having worked for your employer.

Educational Background

Let’s take a closer look at some of your educational options if you want to work in control inspection in the UK. As already mentioned, the typical approaches are the completion of an appropriate college course, apprenticeship, or university course. To give you a first idea of possible subjects and diplomas, we will now look at three typical control inspection jobs in the UK.

Quality Control Inspector

If you want to focus on product quality control, you have the following options when it comes to your training: 

• Undergraduate degree in production management or manufacturing engineering
• Foundation/higher degree in one of the above-mentioned and other subjects
• Quality Practitioner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

Food Safety Inspector

If you want to ensure the safety and high quality of food, you can train by completing a college course or an apprenticeship. The following are some of the appropriate options:

• T Level in Science
• Level 3 Diploma in Food and Drink Operations
• Advanced apprenticeship as a food technologist or a food and drink process operator

Health and Safety Inspector

If you want to work in health and safety, you have the choice between a (post)graduate university degree, an apprenticeship, or training through a professional body like the IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health). Appropriate university courses can currently be found at the Cardiff Metropolitan University, City & Guilds also offer some degree options. One apprenticeship option can be an advanced apprenticeship as a safety, health and environment technician.

Entry Level

You can gain first work experience by doing a trainee- or internship in your chosen control inspection profession. Although this technically does not qualify as an entry-level job, it can benefit you in the long term. If you want to fast-track your career and spend less time in an assistant or junior position, further training can help. Typically, this is a shortcut to more senior positions in which you hold more responsibilities. Which options you have regarding said training is what we explore in the next section.

Continuous Learning

Life is a learning curve and what is true for your private life naturally also applies to your professional life and development. Continuously improving your competencies must be a part of your professional development, regardless of the job you hold. Since you work as a control inspector, you also must be aware of the relevant regulations. An in-depth knowledge is needed as much as staying updated on all changes and adjustments. 

If you end up working in food inspection, you will need health and safety certifications which you can earn through the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), and the above-mentioned Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). These certifications are also mandatory for the job of a health and safety and an environmental health inspector. 

Quality control inspectors typically need different/further certifications, among which are the following: 

• ASQ Certifications
• Six Sigma Certifications
• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training

Also, you should be in possession of your NEBOSH certificate in occupational health and safety. Naturally, this certification awarded by the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is also valid for safety-related inspection jobs.

A Day in the Life of a Control Inspector

By now, you are probably wondering which jobs and tasks will “control” your working life as a control inspector in the UK. So, without further ado, we will now explore three typical daily tasks that will keep you busy and occupied.

Site Visits

Not all control inspection tasks are limited to your office. A lot of the time, you visit sites where you ensure that the overall quality standards of whatever a company is dealing with are being met. The sites you are visiting can include anything from factories, food manufacturers, retail suppliers, and processing plants. Part of your visit must extend to checking that every work process meets with health and safety laws and complies with any other regulation in place. 

Documentation 

Documentation is another important part of your working day – albeit maybe not the most exciting one (only you know how much you enjoy it). It is vital that you write down all your observations, be it on the outstanding qualities of a product, potential issues, room for improvement, or the compliance with rules and regulations. In some cases, you may have to take photographic evidence that outlines issues and further enables you to cross-check with implemented quality standards.

Meetings

Your findings need to be discussed with the people in charge. Therefore, personal or online meetings are another task you perform when working in control inspection. But first, finish and double-check your documentation and reports and think about a diplomatic way to address potential issues and ideas for improvement. To succeed in this particular task, we recommend that you switch to the side of the company. This means that you should see issues from its perspective and develop solutions that are first and foremost in the company’s and its employees’ interests.

Tips for Thriving as a Control Inspector

With so much valuable information already at your disposal, you may wonder how else we can help you come to the right career decision. That’s easy to answer – by giving you three more tips for thriving as a control inspector which we will look at in this section:

• Be professional
• Be objective/impartial
• Professional development

Be Professional

During the course of your control inspection career, you may encounter the odd, let’s say, “interesting” thing. Being in charge of inspections, especially, where quality and standard expectations are to be met, can present you with unexpected scenarios. Whatever you encounter, make sure that you stay professional and do not let on what you may think of a situation. It is equally important that you keep all you have seen to yourself – confidentiality is essential if you want to stay in and succeed at your job.

Be Objective/Impartial

We all have our opinions, values, and standards which are ideally shared and met by everyone around us. However, this expectation is utopic and should therefore never be a part of your professional mindset. When you embark on an inspection job, you should be objective and push your own views to the back of your mind. The same applies to opinions of employees or a company’s directors. Yes, it is almost like being on a football pitch. Look at things with an objective and impartial eye – and base your observations and solutions on naked facts, not different views, agendas, and emotions.

Professional Development

Although you probably have already spent a lot of time and effort into further training, continuous work on your professional development helps you thrive. There will always be new regulations you need to be aware of or new methods and techniques that improve your professional setup. Setting aside some time for research into the latest teaching/quality control/health and safety/etc. developments contributes to your thriving. All learning aside, you should also take some time out for your personal R&R.

Frequently Asked Questions