Posted By joanne davey I have been told this is on the same level as NEBOSH cert.Any comments please

Posted By Hazel Harvey Joanne, This is a difficult one to answer clearly as there are so many developments currently underway. I presume the Progression Award you refer to is that from City and Guilds? There is in fact no NVQ at level 2 in health and safety. The Employment NTO who specify national standards for health and safety launced a series known as Health and Safety for People at Work in 1999, these are often referred to as the generic units. These had no specific level so that they could be assessed at the most appropriate level within other sector NVQs. The C&G Award is based on some of these generic units so they have obviously pitched them at level 2. There are some instances where some of the units are being assessed at level 4, one of which I am aware is in the Broadcasting industry. However, where things start to get more complicated is that NEBOSH have revised the General Certificate to be based on the ENTO generic units. In the meantime EmploymentNTO have also revised their Health and Safety Practice Units and the new level 3 NVQ will be based on the generic units and called Health and Safety for people at work. So it would be fair to say that the NEBOSH Certificate will be placed on the QCA National Qualification Framework at level 3. As yet NEBOSH have made no decision regarding the level of the Diploma as they are awaiting the new standards before any revision can be carried out. Level 4 OSH Practice has been extensively revised and a new level 5 in Strategis OSH Management is being introduced. So to get back to the original question. The level 2 progression award may be a similar level to the current Certificate but the revised Certificate will be at the higher level 3. It should also be note that the IOSH Managing Safely was revised in 1999 to meet some but not all of the ENTO generic units. It was considered at the time that if any level were to be allocated it would be 2. However, any of these levels are only in the opinion of the awarding bodies unless they are already formally accredited by QCA and most are not.