Posted By portia Hi all I'm from South Africa and my husband is starting work with British Airways, Glasgow in November. My dilemma ia that I might be unemployable in the UK Context as all job ads require Nebosh Diploma. I am willing to invest in this but am I afraid I might be out of work till then since all my qualifications are South African specific. I am a qualified Aircraft Technician (Mechanical), branched out into Aviation Safety as an Occupational Risk Officer, then was Safety Officer in manufacturing, I am currently a Health & Safety Consultant and am exposed to alot of different industries. I am constantly head hunted by my clients and am sitting with an offer from a nuclear plant that i cant accept as i'm moving to Glasgow Please advise and help as I am aware it is HR people that view your application and as long as their keywords don't pop up they will disregard your application.

Posted By Stuart Hamilton Hi Portia Welcome to Glasgow - it is a bit colder than SA but you will I am sure enjoy it. Many local employers will ask for Nebosh Diploma or equivalent (in practice this means something that gets you GradOSH membership of IOSH - see membership pages for more information on this) There are not many places in Glasgow to do the NEBOSH diploma, the most common method of gaining qualifications to GradOSH level is via the degree course at West of Scotland University, the degree course at Glasgow Caledonian University or the Post Grad Certificate at Strathclyde University - there are other routes but these would be your first local consideration in terms of taught courses. (in the main they also work out cheaper than a NEBOSH Diploma) Your experience to date might well lend itself to the "SVQ Level 4" route to qualification, I don't know much about it but it is worth exploring - your experience to date might well see you gain UK recognition for your work to date If you are not fully employed, you could seek unpaid work experience from local organisations in order to gain more experience in application of UK law (not many organsiations will turn down free help), it can only be a bonus on a CV if you think it is needed. As previous contributer has said if you already have particular experiences and qualifications then an agency might well be able to offer you something. I hope this helps in some way and I wish you good luck with your move Stuart

Posted By AMelrose please excuse spelling mistakes - been a long day!

Posted By AlB Don't get too bogged down in it - contact a good H&S recruitment consultant and get them working on your case. The Diploma is only an indication of the qualification and not of your actual ability. If you can demonstrate ability, and show some comparable level of qualification from SA then you're in with a good chance. Your main sticking point will be UK legislation, codes of practices and guidance etc, but that's easily picked up. Good luck