Posted By Helen Flinn
Does anyone else think the prices being charged for H&S courses & subscriptions are astronomical and counterproductive for anyone trying to learn more about the subject/improve themselves?

I am a H&S coordinator by trade, been in the business for about 4 years now. I have a professional and personal interest in the subjects out there.

I've been away in NZ for a year (not travelling, went with other half's work) and while I was there I worked in H&S. Now after returning home, I'm currently temping in an admin role whilst I find myself a H&S position.

I would really like to keep my hand in and attend courses, read the industry magazines and get my NEBOSH cert under my belt, but it would appear that I need to have won the lottery beforehand so I can afford to study and/or stay up to date.

I can't ask my current employer to pay for things as I'm not here long term nor employed in a H&S capacity, but I can not afford to fund a 1 day course in Office H&S at a mere £799 plus VAT out of my own pocket..
What gets to me the most was it looked really interesting and informative and I'm sure I would have learned a lot from it.

I understand that we have to pay for someone's time and to receive the benefit of their knowledge & experience, but surely prices like that are putting people off attending courses like this and keeping the subject out of reach of those who are genuinely interested. Plus it must be putting employers off sending people on courses, I mean there are training budgets and there are training budgets..

Does anyone else feel that same way about this? Does anyone know if there is funding available for people like myself or schemes where the prices aren't quite as heart stoppingly expensive? I don't want to be cheap, but I'm already saving hard so I can start my NEBOSH studies and I can't afford to do more, despite feeling that it would be worthwhile.
This is a subject I'm passionate about and I don't want to walk away from it just because the coffers are low.

Posted By James S
Some training providers offer discounts if you are self funding, it's always worth asking the question.

Posted By Adam Jackson
£799 for a 1 day course Office Safety course?? Plus VAT???

For that I'd want to to be flown to Rome and have the course presented by a troop of gladiators in the Colliseum!

Keep looking around - that's a crazy price!

Posted By Roger the Dodger
Kevan,

I have to disagree with your comment regarding needing to already hold a degree before being able to get on the MSc/Post Graduate Diploma to ALLOW MIOSH membership.

I did the OU 'Environmental Decision Making Diploma' which was satisfactory for upgrade to MIOSH.

The Post Grad/MSc follows this if you desire to do it.

I did not have a degree before starting, just a Higher National Certificate in Engineering & the Pt 1 IOSH Diploma.

As regards cost, yes you have to achieve the required 120 points, usually made up of a combination of 30 and 60 point courses.

I did (the now removed) T237 Environmental Control and Public Health [£240], S260 Science Matters [£240], T835 Safety & Environmental Management [£950], T862 Enterprise and the Environment [£950]

Therefore not all of the courses you need to complete are at about the £1000 mark. You have a choice of courses to achieve the required 120 points. The only mandatory course is T835.

I was lucky an ex employer paid for one of the £950 courses, so it cost me about £1400 spread over 3yrs to upgrade to MIOSH.

There was no way I could have afforded the shorter term options for payment of the required rates I was seeing when I started to upgrade back in 2001

Posted By Tom Chilton
I have great sympathy for your position - bit like having money to make money, which is why many who have a genuine interest, but not a substantial training budget for backing are put off as you suggest.

My advice would be to have a look at smaller, private training companies who may be willing to offer reductions to the 'corporate rate' to someone such as yourself, or make an arrangement for spreading the cost over a reasonable time. Check the quality of any training offered as far as possible prior to signing up - accreditation does not guarantee quality of deliverer or supporting materials.

If you can borrow the course support material from someone who has already done the course, it may be a bargaining point with the provider, as RRC files and RMS books etc. constitute a considerable expense if provided as part of the course.

Don't know where you live, but I am currently studying Nebosh Dip2 with Woodward in Carlisle who have a very good track record for this type of qualification and I'm sure they treat cases outside of the corporate sponsored set up with consideration.

Good Luck - let me know if I can help further.

T

Posted By Tom Chilton
My sincere apologies for the misleading steer on borrowing materials and thanks to the respondee for pointing out my mistake...

T

Posted By Helen Flinn
Thanks so much for the input everybody. I have lots of food for thought and avenues to follow now.

I'm based in Wiltshire (Chippenham), so I'm fairly central. I'm not in any particular industry at the minute - I'm temping for a housing association, but I cut my teeth in manufacturing and spent time working in freight handling. If I had to pick a direction in which to head/specialise then manufacturing appeals the most to me, but I'll never say never.

I have thought about distance learning, but I'm always a little worried about the amount of support you get and also the lack of interaction with other people, I always find it useful to be able to bounce ideas about.
Plus there is always the fear of procrastination and distractions such as descaling the kettle/worming the dog/weeding the crazy paving...

As for why I came back from NZ Roger..well it's a long boring story mainly involving a relationship break up and chronic homesickness. It is a lovely place to visit - 100% recommend it, but on the day to day side of things it got to the point of SSDD, just on the other side of the world!
We poms have this "grass is greener" thing going on, but despite the problems here the UK it ain't half bad y'know! 6 months down the line I'm 100% convinced coming home was the right thing for me. However, I'm glad I went out and tried and had the experience.

Thanks again everyone - may be back to pick more brains later.
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