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#1 Posted : 03 July 2009 13:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By JClews
I am currently doing an environmental health degree at leeds met, but i am in the process of changing my course to H&S. The course is 2 years for a degree, as opposed to the 4 year long environmental health course.

I have some questions relating work progression. I have looked into the jobs which i would like to go for on completion of my degree and many require "experience" in certain areas. What would be the best way to gain the experience needed here?

Also, i am thinking about going to Leeds uni to complete a MSc relating to Energy Production after my degree, which would total 4 years for a degree & a masters degree. But would i be able to work in this field without prior experience?

I am 20, and willing to learn what i need to secure a career which will be satisfying. So if anyone could please provide any information at all would be greatly appreciated. Or if you know of any paid/voluntary placement work in or around Leeds could you contact me.

Thank you and Regards, Jamie Clews.
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#2 Posted : 03 July 2009 14:23:00(UTC)
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Posted By Swis
Jamie,

Best thing to do in your case would be to do some sort of volutary work alongside your studies. You can approch local volutary organisations/clubs, businesses etc requesting a placement for work shadow or part time volutary work.

You are right in saying that for a job corresponding to your education will be hard to find without experience. However, you could always find a much junior role to put your foot in the field.
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#3 Posted : 03 July 2009 14:59:00(UTC)
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Posted By JClews
But the thing is, i don't know what sector of health & safety to go into. I would like to enter energy production or high level industry. I will be completing a masters in a engineering related course, should this help me secure a job in this area? or should i focus on experience first?
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#4 Posted : 03 July 2009 15:17:00(UTC)
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Posted By John Fraser

Jamie

Its tough to get into h & s right now.

Do you think it could be worthwhile inquiring if large energy / engineering companies are taking on graduate engineers. If you could get in there, then perhaps you could do the MSc distance learning whilst getting experience at the same time. Perhaps in time you could transfer to safety and have the experience and quals to do the job competently. This could take a couple of years at least.

You may have to be flexible in your location if you seek the job you want though.

Good Luck

John
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#5 Posted : 07 July 2009 21:33:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson
Jamie,

As and Ex EHO I would strongly suggest you stick with your EH BSc and then do H&S when you finish mate.

Your job prospects would be greatly enhanced and opens more doors for you - seriously don't do it!
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#6 Posted : 07 July 2009 23:43:00(UTC)
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Posted By andymak
Jamie,

I tend to agree with Dave, do the environmentals first then H&S if you want to.
H&S is a mare to get a job in at the moment even with experience.

My adice would be continue your studies, during any down time contact companies to see if you could voluntarily job shadow their environmental / health and safety guy, this way you would potentially get exposure to what environmental issues and H&S means across a wide range of sectors and then decide where / if you want to specialise.
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#7 Posted : 08 July 2009 16:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By John Fraser

Its also very tough to become an EHO anywhere in the UK right now due to Environmental Health having a low profile in LAs - I should know previous to starting a career in h & s about 10 years ago, I had a degree in EH and could not get a placement ANYWHERE in the UK.

JCREWS - if you have a chance of getting a placement with a energy management firm go for it, and then do a h & s qual while you are getting the experience.

I found the degree in EH no use whatsoever, and only started to get interviews in h & s ( private sector during the boom times )when I started to do NEBOSH Quals and having a commercial awareness.

Can you transfer over to a degree subject which could lead to a job in the energy sector ? It could be more worthwhile than EH.

John



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#8 Posted : 11 July 2009 20:53:00(UTC)
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Posted By www.hsepeople.com
[reference removed] is a new website designed exclusively for people working or recruiting in the area of Health and Safety. The site is 100% Free to join and offers members the ability to exchange information and network in a way that has not been possible until now. [reference removed] combines the best features of Social Networking, Job Sites and Training resources all in one place.

Members can build a profile advertising their availability, services they offer and any company information they wish including contact details and web links. Other members can browse profiles and search using key words or location. It is easy to send a message to a member’s inbox or to leave a comment on their profile. Members can upload pictures, safety videos or even music to their profile and can easily add other friends also on the site.

It is easy to view who is online and rather than send a message or email, members can chat quickly through the sites instant messenger or using the sites forums where discussions can range from requests for information, exchanging general chit chat or talking about job leads. The forums offer freedom of speech and are not over moderated like other forums on the Net.

One of the main features of [reference removed] is the free jobs pages and RSS Jobs Feeds. The first allows any Recruiters / Companies on the site to list HSE Positions on the forums for FREE. The jobs pages are proving very popular with already over fifty agencies posting jobs in the first six weeks and many success stories starting to emerge of successfully placed candidates. The second is the RSS job feeds which are pulling jobs in from lots of other job sites all over the Web. These are broken down into categories and update as soon as jobs are listed on the relevant sites. This means that we are very confident you can find more HSE jobs on [reference removed] than any other site on the Net! The best part is it’s FREE to list, browse, search and apply for Jobs.

More ways of exchanging information is also available to any member on the site. Any member can create a blog to their own profile. If the content is relevant to other [reference removed] then that blog can be posted to the site magazine with moderator approval. Everything can be done from the control panel at the left hand side on every main page on the site.

[reference removed] is a community site and in looking for ways to fund the site, keeping the content relevant to Health and Safety and not plastering the site in banner advertising we have came up with a few ideas that may work well with your business. Firstly, the Events page, this page allows Trainers or Course providers to upload details on training events they are holding in the near future. Members of the site can then enlist for the event. [reference removed] will only charge 10% of the course cost per delegate signing up through the site. It is free to upload an event so you have nothing to lose by giving it a go.

Secondly, is the addition of a links page that will be coming very soon. This page will be broken down into three categories: Recruiters, Trainers & Consultants. Here you can place a link on a main page of [reference removed] and advertise your business to our members. As the site is new we are offering the first 25 links for only £150. If you would like to show your support for [reference removed] and promote your business to our ever growing number of members please contact Kevin@hsepeople.com



Thirdly, we will in the future be offering a product review page. This will be a great way of getting your product out into the market and visible to our members. We particularly want to hear from PPE Companies or Safety Equipment manufacturers who would like us to review their products. This service may eventually expand to course providers.

Lastly, [reference removed] is hoping to soon be able to offer a Document Library that any member will be able to add documents too. Other members will then be able to browse, search and then download any document they need. We think this will prove to be a very valuable and popular page. How many times have you been required to write a new procedure or produce a risk assessment or training presentation on a subject that you know other [reference removed] have probably covered thousands of times? No longer will you need to reinvent the wheel… Power points, Presentations, Forums, Posters, Regulations, Procedures, Formats and much more will all be able to be uploaded. This page is proving expensive to make and it would be great to hear from companies interested in sponsoring it. We are sure it will be the most popular page on the site and we could offer your company some fantastic exposure.

[reference removed] is only six weeks old but already proving hugely popular with almost 1000 members, the site has so far grown mostly on word of mouth. Only now are we starting to appear in search results and directories. I think this demonstrates how much of a hit the site is. We hope [reference removed] becomes the one place recruiters go when looking for candidates, Candidates when looking for jobs, Companies when looking for Consultants and [reference removed] when looking for information or training courses.

The site is currently receiving over 2500 hits a week and that is increasing with every new member that signs up. We are working hard to appear at the top of Search Engine Results and even though it takes time and a lot of effort we are committed to making [reference removed] a Success.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to create a profile on [reference removed], Advertise your company or business and have a feel round see what you think. If you see the potential in the site and wish to support it by any of the above mentioned methods then please do drop us a line. Your support will make the site a success and hopefully the one stop shop for everything HSE.

Hope to see you there.

Kevin Forbes
www.hsepeople.com
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