Hi

I could really do with your help here as I feel a complete wast of time has been had over the past eight and a haly years. I passed the IOSH Managing Safety back in 1995 and it really helped me in my secondary job roles as a health and safety rep. In 2007-2008 I paid £1000 to attend college every Monday for 5 months and passed the Nebosh General Certificate in Health and Safety and I cannot for the life of me get a full time job in Health and Safety. I conduct risk assessments as a secondary role to my normal every day work, I volunteer as a school govornor in a health and safety capacity, have Tech IOSH status and keep up to date with all legislation. Here's the problem or so I have been told on numerous applications. I do not have enough experience for a full time role and I have been told on three seperate occasions that I have too much experience for a trainee role. I would love to complete the Nebosh diploma or alternatively the Level 5 but to facilitate the training I understand that you need to be working in the sector to make the studying viable. I presume that after eight years of applying, contacting the supposed specialist recruitment agencies, attending networking events and never having a sniff I should call it a day. Is there any organisation who takes on people in my situation?

Thank you

You shouldn't give up at all. Regarding diploma I know plenty of practitioners who have completed cert then diploma without ever setting foot in a safety role so you have a one up on them for a start. Look at maybe some helath and safety admin roles because as a rep you may not get the recording and reporting experiance that comapnys will need you to have (this might not be the case for you but I know of reps I have worked with they are all about the doing and not about the writing down). 

It sounds to me like you are keen and that isn't something to be thrown away so definatly stick at it I think maybe you should look at your CV and if you are in Batley I would have thought you would be part of the IOSH yorkshire branch which is over in Ackworth/Pontefract there are some great supportive poeple there and you should go to the branch meetings get your CPD up and chat with the people there. 

If you want any help with your CV I am in the middle of a relocation/job hunt myself at the minute and have become fairly good at it so am happy to help. 

jodieclark1510     thank you for offering to look at my cv, your mail box will not accept any mail as it is full.

I was in a similar position, albeit some years back, approaching my mid forties I decided to enrol for a Masters in Healh and Safety Management with only a NVQ 3 and little experience. It was a bit of gamble although I did have a good job if things did not materialise. I got my first break not too long after gaining my MSc at the ripe old age of 46. It may be harder now to break into h&s...or maybe not.

Good luck whatever you choose.

Most Jobs will ask for experiance, i'm guessing the ones that can be a bit harder to get are mainly office based roles as there seems to be quite a few people just applying for a monor H&S role within an organisation.

I'm in Construction H&S, I've done 25 years as a Coded Welder /fabricator 8 years Plus as a Health and Safety Manager for a Construction Company with Sites all over London, I have a NVQ Level 6 In construction site Management and a Black Managers CSCS card and Black Skillcard. I'm also an ISO 14001 Enviromental Auditer and am Accreditied Associate member of the CIEH

All of those gives me considerable expenice in doing what i do and will look good on a CV.

All i can say is look at your H&S role and see if you can specialise in something other that Bog standard H&S

Another issue is PAYE or Self Employed/Limited Company?

The PAYE route is far over Subscribed for general H&S jobs, look at your future a bit more and see if you are willing to Escape the Rate race and make a better life for yourself

I have been a practitioner for 18ish years, I was FORCED to do the IOSH MS because of the sector my then emplyer worked in, I then asked for the NGC.

I though 'hmmmm I quite like this' and simply wrote numerous covering letters with a CV to middle/ large companies within the sector I klnew (M&E) asking for sponsorship through the Dip while working for them, I was picked up within 9 months and there we have it.......

I didn't look for the position, I chased it.................................