The Rise of the 20-Something Safety Coordinator: Why Construction Sites Are Suddenly Full of New Faces

Construction sites across the country are changing — not just in technology, not just in pace, but in who's wearing the hard hat labeled Safety.

Walk onto almost any jobsite in 2025 and you're likely to see a 22- to 28-year-old "Safety Coordinator" trying to manage hazards they've never personally worked with, coaching trades they've never performed, and enforcing rules they barely understand.

This isn't their fault.
But it is a growing industry problem — and it's showing up in quality, culture, and incident rates.

Let's talk about why this is happening, what's going wrong, and what needs to change before we burn out another generation and put workers at unnecessary risk.

1. The Industry Is Desperate — and Hiring Anyone With a Pulse

Contract demand is exploding: data centers, infrastructure, microchip facilities, power distribution… everyone's fighting over the same shrinking pool of qualified safety professionals.

Meanwhile:

• Experienced safety pros are retiring
• Many mid-career pros are burned out
• Companies want "safety coverage" without paying for real competency

So what do they do?
They hire fast and hope the 20-something learns "on the fly."

The result: well-meaning kids thrown into serious responsibility with almost zero meaningful education or field experience.

2. Most of These New Hires Are Set Up to Fail

Here's what no one wants to admit:

Many entry-level safety people are given:

• No formal training
• No mentorship
• No real field time
• No understanding of construction sequencing
• No clue how to talk to skilled trades without creating friction

Then they're asked to enforce complex OSHA standards against ironworkers, operators, electricians, or welders who have been doing the work longer than they've been alive.

If you're that young coordinator? You're stressed.
If you're that crew? You're annoyed.
If you're the company? You're gambling.

3. The Blind Leading the Experienced Is Creating Safety Culture Whiplash

Safety culture sinks fastest when:

• The person giving direction doesn't understand the work
• The field loses respect for the safety role
• Supervisors "check out" because they don't want the drama

Crew members are more likely to:

• Ignore warnings
• Work around safety
• Stop reporting issues
• View safety as a box-checker

You can't build trust when the face of safety doesn't have authority or real-world understanding to back it up.

4. Companies Need to Stop Confusing "Safety Coverage" With "Safety Leadership"

A 24-year-old walking the job with an iPad is not a safety program.

If companies want real results, they need to rethink their approach:

• Pair new coordinators with seasoned pros
• Require real training (not 10-hour certificates)
• Build competency programs that include field rotations
• Stop treating safety like an entry-level HR position
• Invest in mentorship instead of just filling seats

This generation can be great — but not if they're tossed into the fire with nothing but a vest and a badge.

5. The Reality: We Should Be Building the Next Generation, Not Blaming Them

Despite all this, here's the truth most people don't say out loud:

But you can't expect excellence without guidance, real education, and the humility to admit that safety isn't a job you learn in a classroom — it's a craft you learn in the field.

6. The Fix Is Simple but Takes Courage

If companies actually want safety coordinators who can contribute on Day One or Day 200, here's the path forward:

• Hire fewer, train better.
• Stop pretending safety is "plug and play."
• Give new hires a mentor, NOT just a manual.
• Let young safety professionals spend time with every trade.
• Only promote when competence—not age or convenience—is proven.

The result?
Confidence. Respect. Real cultural impact.

Because the problem was never the age — it's the preparation.