Having (very early on this year) come across a consultant who charges £50/month. Yes I put £50:00, it was not a typing error. Are any of you out there surprised that you cannot find work?

Depends what the consultant was doing for the £50 really! ;-) Tony - there is no gold mine down here. This is a myth perpetuated by people living north of Birmingham!

£50 per month is dreadfully low. I do think however, that the H&S bubble has burst for the foreseeable future, especially for anyone wishing to enter the industry.

Thats true but this guy does zero visits. £50/month buys you a H/S package including COSHH risk assessments, full stop. Yes, for COSHH read MSDS and ignor risk assessment. No, he is not a member of IOSH. Agreed, until it all goes Pete Tonge, who (client wise) is going to know any better.

I agree that £50 for a retainer is a pittance. However without knowing more about it, its hard to comment. For example - the £50 retainer may be just that, someone on the end of a phone and visits charged extra. They may specialise in a very narrow sector and maybe very low risk (all pure office type businesses etc). Therefore the risk of being'called out' is very low and hence the extra costs etc wouldn't eat into your business/profitability. Yet the £50 to each client is small change on an individual basis. If there are 200 clients at £50 thats only £10k per year - not really a good salary by itself. However we don't know what other income may be available or the private finances etc of the guy. It may be only a bit of 'top money' is all that this guy requires - due to no expensive wife, kids, mortgage etc!! Or maybe he does have a wealthy wife who supports him and he does the h&s bit as a 'hobby'. One advantage older/single guys have over those of us in mid career is that their outgoings/life costs are likely to be less - hence can afford to work for less. This makes it much nore difficult/competitive for those of us in mid career who still have lots of private costs etc, so can't afford to work for less. Personally I would base a retainer on the nature of the clients business (risk) and number of employees i.e. the liklihood of being called out to deal with a proble. In any case a retainer closer to £1k per year, seems much more sensible. Or work in the oil industry as a consultant, solves many problems!!

Ok,fair enough - if £50 per month per client, then it is £120k Gross Easy!!

Like Rob says, it's pretty grim out there, and I think it's as bad up here in Derbyshire, as it is anywhere else.

It is rather disheartening to read this thread, I am trying to start a career in OHS. I have recently gained my NEBOSH Certificate and I am now studying for a degree. I am in my 40's and looking for a new start. Are there really so few jobs out there? How do you gain the experience desired by employers if you cannot get on the career ladder so to speak?

It may be disheartening Andrewt but it is realistic I'm afraid. Starting a career in OHS, as in many other industry sectors currently, is problematic. As freelance safety says, I know numerous CMIOSH who are continually contacting me for leads / work etc. So yes very few jobs out there, the last few months SHPs are testimony to that...... as well as the numerous threads already on the Forum. If you are a consultant with an established client base, perhaps on a retainer / contract basis then great but starting out as a consultant or changing careers when you are in gainful employment…. well I wouldn't recommend 'jumping ship' at the moment. However, keeping an eye open for opportunities and continuing with education is a good idea for when things pick up. Personally I found attaining an MSc the 'top banana' for going it 'alone' and continued success.

Sorry - interim/newbies.....lol!

Why charge a "retainer" fee? Our preferred accountants/financial auditors, legal advisors,marketing consultants,occ.health consultants etc etc do not levy a "retainer" fee. We use them as required and are invoiced acccordingly based on time expended on our instructions. Why should Health and Safety Consultants expect a payment just to be "retained"? Jon

Apparently some businesses John M like to pay a "retainer" fee by means of budgeting. Besides, what does it matter if the business and the Safety Consultant concerned are happy, they can conduct business and the payment method as they wish to suit both parties…… One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Its certainly is tough out there at the present. I managed to get a new h & s role last week in central scotland, but was reliably informed by the recruitment consultant that around 80 had applied for the post. ! It was just what I had done in the past that had carried me through together with the quals that I have. All you can do is keep trying, summarising what you have done in h & s and hope you can get an interview or two when the jobs appear. Don't give up - if you get a few interviews and don't get the job ask where you went wrong and learn from it so that you are better prepared the next time. I think we are in the marketplace now where there will be anything from 50 to 100 people with perhaps safety quals but no / little experience going for these very few roles floating about the uk right now and probably for the remainder of the year. John

I can relate with Andrewt having been made redundant in Sep and been a union safety rep in the past I decided to follow my heart and self fund a new career in OHS. When I first sourced for NEBOSH Diploma course providers I was assured companies would fall over themselves to give me a starting position.The truth is that companies and fellow OHS professionals wont even entertain my request for non paid work experience so I can gain some valuable insight to go with my studies. Time and money is now running out and the diploma may have to be abandoned so that I'm available to prospective employers for non OHS positions. In the words of Annie it a hard knock life.

The UK (Specifically London) seems to have alot of job opportunities for health and safety professionals. Unfortunately the situation over here in Ireland is dire, there is literally no work over here unless you have 8 years experience, then you might be in a better position. Best of luck with the job hunting everyone :)

Here is my Expierence, Have worked in Construction/civil Engineering for just shy of thirty years, and looking to the future. Went and got a education, amongst various construction,building, IT,Auto Cad qualifications, did the NEBOSH general certificate, cant get foot in door any where, even though exisiting H&S Manager will come and ask me for advice, as he is Chartered, but no expierence in industry! Its Catch 22, but even if you can afford to take time to gain higher Qualification, is it worth giving up work?. In the knowledge that you then wont get a job. and the folk trying to get foot in door, ie me, are overlooked for higher qualification,and often straight out of futher education and willing to work for very little. no its not a good time !

On the whole it looks pretty depressing. I look at the jobs sites on a weekly basis- as I may be looking to move later this year- and the situations mentioned by other posters isn't encouraging. Food for thought indeed. Andy

I follow linkedin, Iosh web sites and more job sites than I could possibly remember on a daily basis.The Midlands down and Aberdeen are going great guns, the North East as always is on its Knees but showing signs of increasing life. The problem is unless you have a NEBOSH Diploma and 5 years IOSH membership with a proven track record in said industry forget it. One job paying 20K per annum asked for 10 years IOSH membership a degree in engineering preferably electrical, training qualifications, NEBOSH Diploma in OHS and Enviromental Diploma to go with your Quality and Production Continual Improvement qualifications. You had the overall responsibility for all of the above and needed to show you had a proven track record. 20K! it would take 10-15 years and cost 20-30K just to get the qualifications.