Posted By Roger the Dodger
HSE are recruting new trainee inspectors!

Ah Ah I thought, at least read the Prospectus

1st Section
Starting Salary is £20581

Didn't bother with the rest of the Prospectus - can't afford the pay drop...

Any other offers applicants

Posted By Paul Craythorne
The pay may not be the best in the world but all the training is paid for and after a few years in the HSE the jobs market opens up quite well.

Paul Craythorne

Posted By Raymond Rapp
I was hoping for a role with the HMRI with 22 year working in the railway industry etc. However, I figure that at my age (46) I have missed my chance, pay cut or not.

The role advertised seems to me like safety on the cheap. After all, the university of life is an important factor. You cannot learn that at uni.

Ray

Posted By Raymond Rapp
As Roger implies, getting graddies may be a short term solution but when they have got the experience will they be retained?

In the past the HSE have sought experienced staff with qualifications. A knowledge of a particular industry, implicit and explicit should be a requisite I would have thought.

Must be well past my sell-by date !

Ray

Posted By garyh
Is it me or are HSE Inspectors getting less and less "experienced" ie how many Inspectors have any concept of what it is like to be "on the other side of the desk".

In my view HSE and EA Inspectors should have to have Indsutrial Experience or be seconded to Industry before they are "let loose".

How many experienced HSE Managers & Officers are ging to see entering the HSE / EA as a career move, on this sort of salary?

Posted By Raymond Rapp
Peter, you have made your point, £20K may not be a bad salary for a trainee, some may disagree. However, and correct me if I am wrong, the crux of the argument is whether experience in a particular sector should be integral part of the selection and recruitment process. After all, we are talking about HSE Inspectors are we not.

Incidentally, you can start with LUL as a station assistant (no qualifcations required) on a basic salary of about £19K. Put in perspective £20K does not seem that attractive even for a graduate.

Ray

Posted By MC
Hello all,

So if I am a not so recent (post)graduate (graduated 7 years ago, age almost 30) with 14 months relevant experience, a nebosh cert, am I too old? too good? could go either way if i applied as with any job?

I do recall reading that a HSE employee's survey didnt come out too well either!

It is 2 years' structered training upto NVQ level 5 and then continued training for another 3 years - so I do feel more experienced people's comments on graduates not having experience is a bit harsh. You can learn alot in those years - give graduates some credit!

All the best
MC

Posted By Ian J. Durber
Just a note for those of you concerned about HSE's 'age' of entry from their equal ops. statement:

"HSE is committed to equality of opportunity .We aim to reflect the diversity of the community we protect. Applications are encouraged from individuals regardless of disability, gender ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age or religion".

Hope this is useful to the debate.

Regards,

I. Durber

Posted By Pat Burns MIOSH, RSP - SpDipEM - AMIQA
If the government of today was as committed to health & safety as businesses were they should remunarate at a competitive salary to try and attract qualified professionals from industry.

As previously stated it is all to well recruiting graduates from Uni but there is no in depth knowledge to underpin the training they receive. In most cases as we used to say in the Royal Navy with regards to direct entry officers and technicians: No CDF.

Posted By Nick TM Patience
I am a health and safety inspector and have been for 9 years. it is interesting to read the comments on this forum. when I joined HSE I was an Intensive Care Charge Nurse and was earning £21k, the trainee inspector pay back then was £14k. I felt back then that the temporary pay drop was worth it for the long term. I have received large amounts of training,obtained a post-graduate diploma in OHS, gained experience of regulating in several different industries and hopefully helped to improve the working lives of people at work. Perhaps I am a bit altruistic but I still try to approach the job for the reason that I started: to stop people needing the sort of treatment in hospital that I gave them for the first few years of my working life. Donald Trunkey an American Traumatologist suggested that the best treatment for trauma was to prevent it in the first place.

Pay isn't everything.

Posted By Ralph Baqar
Roger, I’ve yet to come across anyone who has worked as a health and safety professional and then joined HSE as an inspector.

HSE usually take on university graduates and then send them to undertake a post graduate diploma and follow this on by furthers in-house training.


I’d be very interested to hear of any inspectors who were formally external safety advisors before they joined HSE.

Posted By Andrew Brown
Lots of interesting responses here, some inaccuracies though. I was an HSE general inspector until 2 years ago. I originally joined in 98 on 18K. The training lasts 2 years including 6 months at Aston University to get the Diploma. After that you get promoted adding around 4k to the salary (98 prices). The other training is fantastic in its depth and breadth. You get excellent support from colleagues during training also.

Salary is not great to start with but what you also have to remember (and HSE is not very good at pointing out these) is 13.5% on top of your salary into your pension. All travel is on company time so you don't have to work over a 37 hour week, 5 1/2 weeks leave (goes upto 6 1/2 after about 8 years service). Very family friendly for time off, part time and flexible working for mothers. For me after 5 years the package was worth about 30k (2003)

Of the 120 people recruited the same time as me maybe one or two had previous H&S management experience. None were straight from university and I was one of the youngest in my late 20's. Minimum requirement is 2 years of work in any discipline. HSE changed its recruiting procedure in 98 and went to a detailed evidence based assessment, ie daunting application form, psychometric testing session (half day) and if you passed that full assessment day of various exercises. The figures i recall were 10000 application forms requested, 2000 returned, 500 assessed, 120 appointed. HSE like to recruit people with good interpersonal skills and then train them to think like inspectors (not the same as thinking like a safety manager in my opinion)

Some of the respondents to the original post were qualified engineers who would not normally apply as general inspectors but as specialists. Starting salaries for specialists are much better generally and take more account of free market prices (ie more if theres a shortage of a particular discipline). Specialists generally have more chance for promotion than general inspectors.

One of my former colleagues left for a consultancy job 30k plus car etc worked 50 hours week for 12 months and then went back to HSE as he preferred it. Very few from that original number have actually left to my knowledge and HSE generally has a low staff turnover for inspectors.

Posted By CJ
Their email response to me after the completion of the tests was priceless.


HSE:'Subject: Invitation to complete personality questionaire.'

My thoughts: looks like good news!

HSE: We are pleased to inform you that you have met the standards required to attend our assessment centre.

My thoughts: Very good news!

HSE: However due to the larger than expected amount of responses we can only place you on the reserve list.

My thoughts: Bugger!

Then someone from the HSE phoned congratulating me, even though i haven't got an interview.

What a weird world it is