Posted By CW Why would you want to do the IOSH Managing Safely after doing the NGC & NFC?

Posted By CW You will be wasting your time and money imo. This is maybe a poor analogy but here goes. Think of the MS as a low grade gcse pass and the NGC as an A level pass, that is the difference. The NGC is a much more detailed course in every way. I did the MS a few years ago and then the NGC. The MS took 4 days including a 30 minute exam. The NGC took 12 days + loads of home work and was followed by two 2 hour exams and a practical with a report to write. One of the 2 hour exams is called the 'management paper' That in itself requires more work than the entire MS course.

Posted By Mike K So your saying I can get the fire cert without doing the course?

Posted By herb1 I would do the NGC and follow up with some of the EP college stuff. They usually prefer if you start with the foundation Introduction to public safety and crowd management (or something like that off the top of my head) before moving on to the sports ground stuff and other event strands. Safety in complex and built environments may be suitable too. Not sure where you are studying but Bucks and Chiltern college do a lot of work on crowd safety which will be important. Not sure of the value of the fire cert for the career you are after. You may well cover most of the ground in NGC. Forget MS. For other areas of event safety it would be good to get some experience in an industry placement especially if you are interested in concerts/festivals etc. It is a very technical area in some respects especially when it comes to structures, cranes and lifting gear, lighting, sound and electrical supplies. Wish you luck. Mike

Posted By herb1 Hi Mike, The only reason i thought that there was little value in fire cert at this stage is that the systems required for sports grounds are going to require some major engineering and procedures that really ought to be left to some heavy duty fire safety engineers to carry out assessments. As an example some of the kit that has been put in at Wembley is very impressive and a fine example of good planning at design stage. Suppression systems, compartmentation and fire fighting shafts to name but three. Give yourself some time to cover some other ground first and by all means go the route of fire safety if it grabs you later on. Pace yourself! Fire stewarding is a bit of a different kettle of fish and would need to be specific to the venue. You will receive training directly i would have thought. Have fun whatever and feel free to PM if you wish Cheers h

Posted By Andrew Bradbury Hello Mike, Sorry for coming into this thread at such a late stage but I am intrigued by your post regarding a career in Event Safety, particularly at sports grounds. If you want to work in Event Safety then from my experience most people in the event crowd safety management industry either come up through the ranks from the stewards or they are ex. Police officers or security staff and find work in the event stewarding and security industry because of there previous experience. Alternatively you could attend the two year foundation degree course in Crowd and Safety Management at Buckinghamshire New University. You could always apply to work at your local football club and ask them if they would be prepared to send you on the Football Safety Officers Association (FSOA) Event and Matchday Safety Management Course and work towards the NVQ Level 4 in Spectator Safety. This is now a requirement of the new 5th Edition of the GREEN GUIDE for all Safety Officers and Deputy Safety Officers at designated sports grounds and stadiums. From reading your original post, the best advice I can give you is general health & safety knowledge and qualifications are very useful in the Event Safety industry but you need to obtain specific knowledge and understanding of crowd behaviour and crowd dynamics at stadiums and outdoor events.. And in my opinion no NEBOSH, ISOH or fire safety qualification will give you that, from my experience it is better to become a part time steward and start attending stadium or outdoor events and experience the reality of crowd safety management, it’s not a glamorous as you might think.. Should you want any further advice then please do not hesitate to contact me.. All the best, Andrew

Posted By Mike K Thanks for your reply Andrew. In response: I have signed up for the NEBOSH NGC, on evenings, as a start to my H&S training. Although it is not specific to Event Safety, it will give me a good knowledge base in safety law and will show that I am serious about my career development. I am currently involved with a football team at Championship level, working as a Safety Steward and currently being assessed for my NVQ Level 2 in Spectator Safety. With any luck, I would like to progress at the club onto NVQ Level 3 which would allow me to work at Supervisor level. After speaking to a few senior members of staff at the club, I will soon be spending some match days 'shadowing' certain members of staff such at the Chief Steward etc. I think the regional rep for the FSOA is the safety officer at the club where I work. I might try and talk to him about how I can progress and my career. One more thing, my copy of the Green Guide (5th edition) came about a week ago, its very complicated! haha. Mike