Health

Public Health Inspector

Public health inspectors check food places, water, homes and pests, and use the health laws to stop diseases spreading.

A health worker in navy overalls, goggles, a mask and gloves sprays a cloud of disinfectant into a red minibus with a fogging machine, to stop germs spreading.
Photo: MUTMUS28, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Maker's name on the goggle strap, lettering painted on the minibus and the labels on the fogging machine blurred; stickers on the door cropped off; cropped and resized to 1000 px wide.

At a glance

Pay

In 2026 the Western Regional Health Authority advertised Public Health Inspector (HPC/EH 1) posts at J$3,241,533 to J$3,853,164 a year. Pay scales change, so check the current one.

Western Regional Health Authority, Internal advert: Public Health Inspector (HPC/EH 1) x 2, St. James Public Health Services (closed 23 March 2026), checked Oct 2026

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Years of study

UTech's BSc in Environmental Health takes four years.

University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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Jobs

No reliable figure yet

The path

  1. Your CSEC subjects and where to study

    BSc Environmental Health

    University of Technology, Jamaica

    You need: 5 CSEC passes, including English A, Mathematics and Chemistry and (CSEC Biology or CSEC Human and Social Biology)

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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  2. Your licence

    To be hired as a public health inspector, you also need to be registered with the Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine. Health department job adverts ask for it.

    Western Regional Health Authority, Internal advert: Public Health Inspector (HPC/EH 1) x 2, St. James Public Health Services (closed 23 March 2026), checked Oct 2026

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  3. Your first job

    UTech names public health inspector in the regional health authorities as the first career on its list for this degree. Later, graduates can become health managers, directors of environmental health, national specialists at the Ministry, or university teachers.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    Parish health departments hire graduates as Public Health Inspectors. In 2026 the Western Regional Health Authority was looking for two in St James.

    Western Regional Health Authority, Internal advert: Public Health Inspector (HPC/EH 1) x 2, St. James Public Health Services (closed 23 March 2026), checked Oct 2026

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    A Public Health Inspector has the power to enforce the Public Health Act: to serve notices and to take people to court when they break the health rules.

    North-East Regional Health Authority, Job advert: Public Health Inspector 1 (HPC/EH 1), Portland Health Department (closed 8 August 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    The next grade up, Public Health Inspector 2, asks for three years of experience as a Public Health Inspector.

    North-East Regional Health Authority, Job advert: Public Health Inspector 2 (HPC/EH 2), St. Ann Health Department (closed 21 August 2026), checked Oct 2026

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Sources for these sections

No AI writes these facts. Each one comes from the source named under it and is checked again every year.