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#1 Posted : 28 May 2004 11:35:00(UTC)
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Posted By Gary Bennett Hi everyone, I have seen a tremendous amount of Health & Safety vacancies being advertised for the construction industry lately, is there a shortage of skilled H&S professionals out there for this industry and can someone with H&S qualifications / experience from another background such as manufacturing make the switch to construction without construction experience? I understand the need for construction experience due to the hazardous environment; however, could this experience be gained on the job, starting at the bottom with a mentor? Are there any construction companies out there that already do this? Thanks, Gary
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#2 Posted : 28 May 2004 14:10:00(UTC)
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Posted By Richard S Pigg Gary, There is a massive shortage of Construction Safety people at the moment (probably 50% of our vacancies are of this type). It is however very difficult to move across to Construction H&S. The problem is that most roles are multi-site thus mentoring is not really possible. Construction companies are very concerned about taking on people without Construction experience as there have recently been a nmuber of cases were incidents have happened and the Safety Manager (if they have little Construction Safety exp and loads of general safety) is accused of not being a competent person and the company has been sued for vast amounts of money. HTH Richard Pigg KEY PEOPLE
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#3 Posted : 28 May 2004 14:46:00(UTC)
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Posted By Joel Frorath if you can make a successful transition from manufacturing to construction, go for it, it is such a challenging industry different every day and very satisfying and never a dull moment!! but practical experience however is a vital part of the job though Good Luck
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#4 Posted : 02 June 2004 13:37:00(UTC)
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Posted By Max Webber If there is a competent professional out there that is willing to make the jump they should be encouraged, because the construction companies in the main only want to pay for partially qualified personnel so they have a name on the books. This especially applies to the small to medium size contractors. Why is this when it is such a high risk industry?
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#5 Posted : 03 June 2004 08:16:00(UTC)
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Posted By Delwynne Although Richards response is quite valid, not all construction H & S opportunities are multi-site. If you look at applying to a principal/main contractor you are likely to end up working on one site with a senior safety advisor to mentor & guide you. Once you have gained some experience in this way you will find it much easier to take on a 'multi-site' situation. If you want to do it - give it a go, it's a fantastically diverse and challenging environment to work in.
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#6 Posted : 03 June 2004 10:05:00(UTC)
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Posted By Gary Bennett Thanks to all that responded to this thread. I will continue applying to construction companies and see what comes my way. Thanks & regards, Gary.
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