I am looking at a career change and am considering taking the Nebosh national certificate followed by doing the dipolma. I am currently 45 and self-employed as I have been for most of my working life, in the current economic climate I was wondering if it is possible to set my self up as self-employed from the start after completing the above courses. I feel that being self-employed for so long will go against me if i try to go along the employed route. I would be looking to start part-time as I have another business that I run but would hope to build up a full-time Health & Safety practice over a couple of years. Has anyone else done this? I would initially be looking to target small retail businesses as running and owning small retail businesses is my main background and i have some experience in completing my own H & S policy and Fire Assessment. Any advice would be appreciated. Regards Richard

The register in my humble opinion is just a way of the different organisations including IOSH to boost their membership numbers and income. Chartered status while being very desirable is an expensive and long process to achieve with no guarantee of success. I have read other posts where some think being on the register has had no discernible effect on their existing business. There has always been strong opinions about qualifications versus experience with most people seeming to think a mixture of both is the best. However I think that a person who has achieved the Diploma combined with years of experience should not be told they have to continue another 2 years of CPD with an organisation they pay fees too before they can even be considered for the register. Taking into account the time taken to achieve the diploma alone and then Chartered status you are probably looking at the best part of 4 years before you would be deemed competent for the register !!

I have the NGC and 20+ years involved in Health and Safety on a top tier COMAH site.The SSW ,risk assessments ,method statements,work permits were all the responsibility of the Manager of each particular area. For many years none of the Managers had any formal H/S qualifications but extensive in-house training. Whenever the Factory Inspector visited he was never unhappy with the quality of the safety documentation which we had prepared.There was a H/S advisor but he was rarely called on for advice because other than ensuring we were up to date with current legislation the Managers knew more than him about their place of work and the risks involved. These Managers including myself were as competent if not more so as any Diploma holder or Chartered member of IOSH,however only in our own areas of work. I can understand the need to show to prospective customers proof of the educational background of the Consultant as well as personal experience but insisting on Chartered Status in nothing more than an excuse to recruit members and then retain them for however long they wish to remain on the register. At the age of 50 I left my company due to mothballing and I think in no small part due to my Technician (lapsed but awaiting re-approval) status and very extensive and varied H/S experience gained a H/S Advisor's role with a large Care Home provider,as my interviewer remarked I had transferable skills. 2 years later I have decided to self finance the Diploma (god bless redundancy and pension)to add to the training my company has provided with a view to starting my own consultancy in a couple of years time. I believe I am as competent as most in my area which with the added educational knowledge the Diploma will give me allied with my H/S experience I do not require Chartered status to be a competent Consultant If I go that route I will be have to wait over 4 years and at 52 don't really want to hang about that long although I will work towards Chartered status along side my Consultancy and will hopefully be successful in both.

Hi Richard, Many self employed consultants I know, have years if not decades of experience before they go self employed. You do have a unique advantage of already experiencing the struggles of being self employed. As many already have said, you need a combination of experience and qualifications. Maybe you can do a short term placement inorder to gain valuable insight into H&S issues. Good Luck Mustafa