Posted By Bob Russell Does anyone have experience of Health, Safety, Environmental management opportunities in Australia, particularly NSW? Are UK NEBOSH Diplomas in Occupational H&S & Environmental Management accepted as a demonstration of competency by employers? Any experiences welcomed.

Posted By Loz Mac Hi, I wonder if you know if my NVQ4 in Occupational Health & Safety would be a suitable qualification for working in oz? Sometimes it is not seen as favourable as the diploma

Posted By Laura Burden Hi Bob As someone that works in the EHS field in Melbourne I'll give you my opinion. I have a good EHS position in a sound company. I do however have uni qualifications in environmental management. Australia seems to recognise experience rather than anything else. Many people here who get positions in OHS start off with no exeprience - they transfer within the company to a safety role (generally newly created). (The 'E' gets added on later.) I have known a few national EHS managers with no qualifications - however they may hold a degree in engineering or something and they maybe studying on the job. I also work with people with no OHS qualifications who get by ok. There are diplomas (post grad and grad) in hygeine i heard are reasonable here. However, OHS here is generally restricted to a certificates which maybe suitable for the OHS rep rather than the professional and are not highly regarded. There are degrees and masters you could try but they are lengthy, costly and may not be that practical. These though are recognised. I'm actually coming over to the UK for a while - the diploma (and now international version) or similar sounds so much better than what's on offer and recognised over here. UK seems to have a more developed training program than over here. If I'm going for a job interview here when I come back I would make sure the interviewer knows that the studies I undertook are highly regarded and very useful (hopefully they are anyway). If you are looking for some job agencies to try let me know - there are a couple of good ones. There are some good internet job sites too and they maybe able to assist with sponsorship. Regards Laura

Posted By Bob Russell Thanks for the info Laura. I have a few links to go at to get a flavour for the types of jobs available over there. My background is a broad QSE role in the chemicals / pharmaceuticals sector, particularly focussing on environmental management / permitting, so would really like to continue in this vein if possible. At this point I am just trying to establish what is available, with a view to a potential move in 1-2 years from now. Rgds, Bob.

Posted By Stephen P I went to the Skills Expo last October and spoke with a lot of organisations and local government people. They are crying out for Environmental Health Officers at the moment and I was contacted in January by a local authority who spoke with me over the phone but they wanted certain EHO qualifications and I am NTU Diploma. The EHO quals they recognise have now been superceeded over her. The salary was approx £20,000 Sterling but the cost of living is lower than over here. I found strict Occupational Safety and Health positions rare, I was interviewed for one but never heard anything, whilst I was asked to send electronic CV's to the national rail corporation but they did not have anything when they got back to me. It seems that H&S are not as high a profile as it is over here but it is increasing and I expect that there will be an upturn in the number of vacancies in the near future.

Posted By LauraR I am looking into emigration at the moment. I am a chartered H&S professional with MSc and NEBOSH Diploma however will be emigrating using my husbands skill as Lift Engineer as he gets more points. For those of you looking into this you might find the following information useful: Health and Safety Officers are listed on the Skilled Occupation List and is worth 50 points. You can however apply to be assessed as a HR Manager specialising in H&S which will be worth 60 points if you are in a management position in a large organisation(I only recently found this out). Neither occupation is classed as a migration occupation in demand which would get priority application and additional points - even though there would appear to be a shortage of H&S professionals in all states. The first part of the migration process is to have your skills assessed so you can claim the points. The assessment body for H&S Officers is Vetassess and for HR Manager would be Australian Institute of Management (AIM). www.immi.gov.au is a good place to start for information or www.britishexpats.com The visa process is point scored and currently you need to get at least 120 points for a general skilled worker visa (which is the most flexible, gives you permanent residence status and allows you to apply for citizenship after a qualifying period (2 years). You will see there are lots of different categories of visa and it is quite mind boggling If you are serious about emigrating it may be worth contacting an agent who will give you a free assessment as to your eligibility. If you do a websearch you will find various agents. I have been told by recruitment agents that British qualifications are highly recognised over there. Good luck to anyone considering making the move. Laura