Posted By Bob Youel have you applied for a specific area of the council or a central area e.g. chief executives dept that covers many parts of the council as a central resourse Things like 'Wellbeing' and 'Diversity' are hot topics as are environmental areas Talk to staff already in post and/or to staff in a diffrent council. Also look at the HSE's current hot topics

Posted By nickyjp I think it is the Chief Executives department that covers everything from event planning to acting as a designated Child Protection officer. Ive looked at the HSEs hot topics and also under the LOcal Authority pages (of which there is very little).

Posted By Fornhelper I think you may find things have changed a whole lot in LA's with regard to jobs going 'in house'. There are very clear procedures and protocols that have to be followed nowadays and in my experience the job is given to the best candidate not the 'best known'. Obviously someone who may work in / with an LA will have an advantage as they will know the ropes if I were Nicky I wouldn't be overly concerned about that aspect of the selection process. With regard to what may be asked I would possibly be looking at Stress, Occ Health , Violence and Aggression and maybe moving / handling....slips / trips & falls is also an area that the HSE have been working with LA's in our area. My best advice would be to make sure you are aware of all the services the council provides and the variety of H & S issues that may arise eg HAVS with Road Workers, Moving & Assistance with Care Workers, Noise with Parks, Stress with teachers etc Best of luck and just be yourself !!! FH

Posted By Steve M Granger Look at the Councils website and make sure you understand who they are and what they do. Its no good preparing the perfect answer that is not suitable for them or their staff / services. By doing this you are in the best position to be able to empathise with any topic they give you. I doubt very much if they are looking for answer to the question (which is 42 if you are asked), but more about how you come across. You will be expected to communicate at all levels so just like an exam give the subject a structured answer with a beginning, middle and end - irrespective of what you actually know about it! This is not real life this is an assessment of your presentation skills (imho). If you have no idea about the subject they ask for say so but still give a structured reply and engage them in question and answer. Oh and take some spinning plates or jugglig balls just in case....

Posted By Ciaran McAleenan Hello Nicky There are a myriad possibilities but I believe what you should endeavour to achieve is the acceptance from your panel that what you can offer is competent advice and assistance, while adding value to the business. By that I mean keep the focus on strategic level objectives and be aware that there are operational consequences with every solution offered. However, remember the two are not mutually exclusive and can be resolved through involvement of workers and managers when developing OSH solutions. Strategic level aspects of potential concern to senior managers include corporate governance, business continuity, security while slightly lower down would be procurement, contractor assessment, staff competence; to include compliance/ control. There is a core in the OAC principles, which if used correctly can be woven into any presentation, if you can contextualize it to the given topic. Just be prepared to think beyond the perceived norm. There are a number of papers on the Safety Exchange that might be worth a read. Best wishes and good luck. Ciaran

Posted By Pete Longworth Whatever the topic Nicky keep it simple. If you are going to use powerpoint don't but in lots of bells and whistles. Remember the 3 principles of health and safety. Legal Moral Fiancial If you only have 20 minutes to prepare there is no way it will be a complicated subject.