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#1 Posted : 30 August 2009 20:10:00(UTC)
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Posted By neilmulholland
Hi Guys.
I'm new to this site and it's forum but I would value your opinions massively as from following the threads recently you all sound like extremely knowledgeable people.

I'm looking to break into the field of Health&Safety and have set about gaining qualifications to couple with my experience.

I'd like to ask your opinion on me and my experience and what the likelihood is of me getting in to this field.

I am a qualified electrician to trade but at the moment I work for Virgin Atlantic as cabin crew. Since joining Virgin I have become a union safety rep working closely with our H&S dept on all that they do for the past year and also completed some courses, some of which are relevant and some possibly not.

IOSH Working safely
IOSH Managing safely
ROSPA Risk Assessment

The following are accredited by the National Open College Network:
Incident Management and Investigation
Employment Law 1
Employment Law 2
Stress Harassment and Bullying in the work place
Computer Skills 3 (Power Point, Excell etc.)

I am about to go through the NEBOSH Gen Cert ending in December.(fingers crossed for a pass)

I am also a qualified first aider and have customer service and team leadership skills gained as a Cabin Crew manager onboard Virgin flights.

I am aware the industry is a bit bleak at the moment but with the information given does anyone think there is a likelihood that someone would take me on? and what's the pay is like for a beginner? etc.

Any info would be hugely appreciated if you can find the time.

Thanks guys

Neil

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#2 Posted : 31 August 2009 11:02:00(UTC)
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Posted By steven bentham
Neil

Do Virgin not have a safety department?

Can you not get some mentoring, safety project or jobs in-house?

Regards
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#3 Posted : 31 August 2009 12:56:00(UTC)
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Posted By neilmulholland
Hi mate.

Yes Virgin do have a very good H&S team and luckily they are giving me some invaluable experience. They allow me to take part in a lot of the day to day stuff.

Do you think this is sufficient to add to a CV as work experience. Also, do you think the other courses I have completed will even be considered as useful by prospective employers?

Thanks for the response though.
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#4 Posted : 31 August 2009 14:40:00(UTC)
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Posted By steven bentham
Basically yes, the more actual safety work you can be involved in the better. This allows you to build a portfolio of experience, the more the better.

Rumour has it that Virgin are a good employer, if they are why not request a secondment to do a longer term project?

Working for a bad employer as a safety adviser is like flogging a dead horse, I think challenging is the word they use!!
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#5 Posted : 01 September 2009 10:45:00(UTC)
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Posted By garyh
If you are doing the NEBOSH cert forget the IOSH stuff - they are far below the NEBOSH level. I have no knowledge of the ROSPA RA training.
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#6 Posted : 02 September 2009 14:36:00(UTC)
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Posted By Raymond Rapp
Neil

I agree with Stephen and you should look for an opportunity within your department/company. Due to the recession it is difficult to break into h&s at the moment and what jobs are available will be poorly paid. Also, look at ways of increasing your working knowledge of the aerospace industry, as there may be an opportunity that arises in a similar sphere.

Ray
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