Hi, I was thinking about doing my p402 in asbestos surveying, just wanted to know people thoughts in the industry ? Is there still work avilible ? Is it going to be worth while doing in the long run ? Is there good money in this ? I thought it would be benificial to me to obtain other people views and make my decision from there. Thanks,

Thanks for the link, So the p402 isn't enough, So would you have to shadow someone for 6 months after completion of the course ? It also says you have to be on 5 at least 5 surveys before becoming a lead survey ?, So in reality you could do 5 surveys in a day and then argue you are competent ?

Hi szone As Alex Petrie stated asbestos surveying will be around for some time. The P402 is the starting qualification for an asbestos surveyor, but will easily allow you to get your foot in the door with an asbestos surveying company, it will be whilst working for such an organisation that you will develop your knowledge. My advice would be then to take either P403 & P404 (fibre counting and air testing, qualifications for an analyst)which would make you a very marketable person or P405 which is the mmanagement of asbestos in buildings. The S301 is too big a jump with no previous knowledge of asbestos as it is basically 18 days worth of training in 4 days, very intensive and heavy going. Hope this helps. I have P402, P402RM, P402RDM, P405, S301.

I agree that the market is saturated with asbestos surveyors at cut throat rates. I have been surveying for over 10 years now and I still come across alot of suprises in identification of ACMs. You should consider some initial health and safety training such as Nebosh Cert, CITB SMSTS before you go onto the BOHS P402. It may help you to consider the other hazards associated with asbestos surveying, and not just the asbestos. Also, consider the NVQ Level 3 in Occupational Health and Safety whilst working.

A degree in engineering/technology/science etc EMployment in the oil/gas/petrochem/nuclear sector. Be prepared to travel and/or work away from home 15-20yrs experience

Just a thought to consider, I did my P402 with my employer who are a council, to get the qualification you must do a practical assessment, however the Council's insurance policy would not cover us to do this as it was not part of our normal job, so check first before you sign up. Also read article, I think in SHP re this being the very minimum qualification and that someone would need to be mentored and complete further training before they should start surveying themselves. I would agree, there was no way after only doing this course that I would have felt confident to go and do a survey and feel safe that I had all bases covered!

Thanks for the replies, So basically unless you are working for an asbestos firm or are about to start with one, There isn't much point in taking the P402 as you will not be able to get the practical experience. I am assuming that it would be very hard to find a surveyor who will agree to take you along to collect 5 samples due to insurance etc ? So seems like a very hard industry to get into unless you have managed to land yourself a job within the industry ? Thanks

So seems like a very hard industry to get into unless you have managed to land yourself a job within the industry ? My observation would be, why would you want to get into this sector? - swamped already by surveyors, poor pay, poor working conditions, health risks