Posted By Zyggy Turek Jenny, The H&S profession is very diverse & encompasses all work activities, not just those related to engineering. Therfore, my answer would be no, it's not essential to have this background. The second point relates to gaining experience. Your organisation should have their own source of safety assistance, either in-house or bought in. Why not try & find out where this is obtained & offer to get involved. The NEBOSH Cert. is a good start & will give a good grounding if you wish to progress up the ladder & make H&S your career. I am sure that other respondants will tell you that even with the Cert. it is still quite difficult to obtain a H&S position without experience (& the age old problem of how do you gain the experience if you are not doing the job?). I, in the past, have advertised for posts at the lower end of a career grade structure & was inundated with applicants all trying to make their way in H&S. Nevertheless, my advice is go for it, do the Cert.& see what the future holds!

Posted By Martin I don't agree with Robert, it is not pointless to begin with the certificate. Of course, if the opportunity exists to start with the Dip. Part 1 or equivalent, this is better, but the certificate is not a waste of time. It gives you a good grounding in the broad church that is H&S and prepares you well for more advanced study later. It is also much more affordable - often vital when considering a career change. The debate about how far the certificate can be viewed as a professional qualification is endless and doesn't need repeating. I do know though that I found it invaluable in starting my career - it provided vast amounts of information, theory and case studies, and showed me where to look for further information, and I would have found it difficult doing my diploma without it. It also got me on the ladder with an employer, who subsequently funded my diploma and built up my H&S experience. Getting involved with your office safety will show you are interested. It will also give you something to apply Health and Safety theory to (such as risk assessment for example - the more you can do while studying, the better, and when you start on a course you will want an outlet to put the knowledge into practice - this will be important to tell future employers that you can apply what you've learned. It isn't easy to get on the ladder of H&S, but the opportunities are there (not just in engineering) and the certificate and some low risk experience is still very valuable to have. Best of luck

Posted By Ian Stone I agree with Martin, I found the Cert a great start and am now working on my Dip 1, the Cert gives a really good grounding to start the Dip 1

Posted By Liz Ferrier I found the NEBOSH certificate a good grounding for all aspects of H&S. Follow that with a diploma I did one at Nottingham Trent. You can do this in 9 months and although hard work it is accredited for IOSH membership.

Posted By Harry You could consider the British Safety Council route - you get a professional safety qualification accepted by a large number of organisations - and it's much easier to obtain. Harry