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Requirements to become a freelance health & safety contractor
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Posted By Hayley Ward
Good evening all,
I am currently considering a career as a health & safety consultant, delivering a service inspecting common areas within commercial properties on behalf on managing agents.
I am experienced in this field and hold a NEBOSH general certificate.
I was wondering if someone could advise on what i need to have in place before i can begin, and how i can go about arranging these things, i.e. professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, safe contractor certification. Anything else?
Also, is it best to operate as a freelance individual or set up as a business. How can i do this?
Any advise would be kindly appreciated.
Many Thanks
H Ward
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Posted By Joanne Vaughan
After nine years of being employed as an H&S Rep and Enforcement Officer, I took the plunge a year ago to become self-employed as a consultant.
I have absolutely no regrets, its hard work and a bit scary at times, as there is no organisation or network of colleagues to support you. Because of this I would recommend you consider taking on the NEBOSH Diploma to get your technical skills up to speed (depending on your experience etc).
I had no trouble finding insurance, Blank Blankart offer a discount to IOSH members. I suggest cover to at least £1 million, as this is a minimum requirement for some clients.
As far as I am aware there is no certificate for contractors, but there is a specialist group within IOSH.
There is lots of support for the self-employed, it's just a case of finding it. I have had a lot of support from the Chamber Business, who will give you guidance on issues such as Terms and Conditions, tax, marketing and sales.
I hope this helps, my advice is just to be confident in what you want to deliver and set your criteria for marketing clearly from the start (such as what size business you want to deliver your services to).
Regards
Jo,
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Posted By Frank Hayes
I agree with Joanne in that you really do need to be operating with a NEBOSH Diploma. You may have all the experience in the world but you will see after going through the Diploma mill followed by a hefty bout of examinations it will indeed give you the edge above the rest. That's the beauty of the NEBOSH Diploma you don't know what question they are going to ask you in the examination. Once you have passed all the NEBOSH Diploma examinations you will then know if you are ready to go it alone.
I do know of a few people who have attempted to break out into the consulting world and fall flat on their faces after a couple of months. One example being a Masters Degree Holder with no commercial experience at all, only this person joined a large company. When the said person entered the commercial (real) world after being protected by Crown Immunity in his previous employement he started to bluff his way through life. Luckily his lesser qualified but more experienced subordinates were there to keep his head above water, but only just. This particulat character is and may still be playing his dangerous game considering lives are at stake.
In your case you say you have the experience but you really need the higher qualification to put the cherry on the cake. At the turn of the coin the Masters Degree holder needs to be commercially experienced to put the cherry on the cake if you get my drift.
Regards
Franky
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Posted By Richie
Hayley,
HEBOSH is a good level of education. It is, however not the only one. Do yourself a favour and talk to people as many people in the field as you can. There is more to the safety world than the NEBOSH "defender of the faith" point of view.
Many organisations now offer the same level 6 (or higher) nationally recognisedf qualifications. NVQ 4, BSC(New)Diploma and the academic route would all see you right regarding the academic qualifications you need.
As for the MSc holder with no commercial accumen, the NEBOSH diploma gives you no more commercial accumen, so this is a bit of a red herring.
Could you not join a consultancy as a junior and finding your feet before going the whole hog?
Richie.
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Posted By Chris05 with regards to setting up as a business, why not consider the franchise H&S model -yes you get paid less but there is more work, and much less risk if you don't have good commercial awareness or sales ability. look at www.healthandsafetydept.com hope it helps, have a successful 06! regards Christian www.healthandsafetyclick.net
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Posted By Dave Wilson
Get more qualifications!
NEBOSH cert 10 days bit of experience and hey presto H&S Consultant, common parts of property is I would suggest low risk, would stick to the low risk stuff until you can get better qualificatns / experience and if you do not know 'ASK'. You can always I'll get back to you'
Remember with your advice you could be putting people lives at risk,know this is probably not what you want to hear but a good read is the HSE 'selecting competent H&S advice, free download from HSE this may give you a pointer in what a client may be looking for in a H&S Consultant.
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