Posted By Bob B
I would like your thoughts on this. I have 20 years experience working within warehousing and distribution. Over the last 13, I have been training people on forklift trucks and other MHE.

About 5 years ago I was approached by our H&S support manager to become a risk assessor and since then I have absolutely loved getting involved in H&S.

Last year I self funded and passed the NEBOSH general certificate and a couple of months ago passed the CIEH professional trainers certificate in view to deliver accredited CIEH courses in H&S level 2, and manual handling. I am now in the process of being trained up in the A1 award in delivering NVQ's (Plant op's). I now have plenty of experience conducting RA's, writing ss'sow, and writing and delivering MHE and H&S training

The company I work for is now having difficulties and the time I spend on H&S is getting less and less. I have recently attended interviews, but as with most others on this forum, I am having difficulties landing a job due to lack of experience.

Last year I was approached by a local business consultant to do some H&S advising and training for his clients. To this end, I have set my self up (Tax, Liability ins etc) and have done a small amount of work for him. The beauty here is that as my job involves continental shifts etc. I have 2-3 days per week spare. Although I am not making much money at the moment, I am getting some experience with a wide range of H&S issues (including some limited exposure to construction)

The difficulty I have is that due to a young family, mortgage etc, I cannot commit to further study to get the bigger qualifications. However, I am learning loads from research and help I am getting from this forum. I have probably learned more in the last year in my spare time than in the previous 4 at work.

So, to my original question, at the NEBOSH cert level, can I be taken seriously? I do know my limitations and will not advise beyond my level of understanding.

Does anyone think I should be on this road working in consultancy or am I in too deep at my level? Ideally, I would like to work full time in H&S with a company that would support further study and CPD.

Thanks if anyone has some thoughts.

Bob

Posted By Thomas Dallow
The simply answer is YES!
I have a nvq level 3 in o-h-s-p and this is the equevelant to ngc.but my cv is very well written and set up and I get at least 2 or 3 replys from would be employers through email but they always seem to be to far away from where I live.
Ask google for cv advice which is whee I got mind from. Some VERY good advice and info on line about writting a good cv.

Good luck
Tom

Posted By Bob B
Thanks all for the responses.

DP, great to hear you are happy with your safety manager. This answers my question nicely, there is hope for me yet!!!

I will look at joining iosh at technician level as Darren suggested. This would show my commitment and perhaps get some letters on my card. However, the ultimate goal here is to improve my CV and land a full time H&S career.

Thanks again

Bob

Posted By Martin Forbes
A lot of people don't realise how valuable a simple NEBOSH General Certificate is (i say that in light heart as theres nothing 'simple' about NEBOSH), put it this way im 19 i passed my NEBOSH exam in August with a Credit, before i even got issued with my certificate i was employed as a Trainee QHSSE Advisor (Quality, Health, Safety, Security and Enviromental Advisor)

So if a NEBOSH certificate alone can land myself a job in health and safetym then someone with your vast wealth of experiance shouldnt have any problems whatsoever.

Posted By DP
Bob - give then a call and inform them of your experience in this type of environment.

They may not have an existing Safety Manager so HR may have put together the spec. Don't forget mate outside safety there is very little understanding of the types of qualifications to be gained.

Good luck.

Posted By Mark Farrell
Bob, if they want a diploma then they should be paying more, I am guessing that they are looking for some experience.
However, you should go for it and gain the invaluable interview experience.