Posted By Anne Smart Dear members, Chartered status is big news for IOSH, the health and safety profession, and all of you who develop your professional skills through the IOSH membership structure. We have been asking some of our soon-to-be Chartered members to share their views on this event and what it means to them professionally. You will see more of these opinions on this website (www.iosh.co.uk/charteredpeople) and in the media over the coming months. But now we’d like to hear from the rest of you, regardless of your current membership category, professional experience or career path. Each week you will see some new threads appear, asking you to share your thoughts on various topics. Please don’t be shy, just be polite. We may want to use your views as part of our ongoing media campaigns, but if we quote you directly we will contact you first. To start the ball rolling, here is an obvious question: What does Chartered status for IOSH members mean to you? Anne Smart, IOSH Media and Marketing Assistant

Posted By David P. Johnson It's the gold mark, the accolade of every profession or industry. It will serve enormously to enhance the standing of the members who achieve the status, and for the organisation itself. Personal experience tells me that anyone who is chartered, be they a surveyor, accountant, engineer, or whatever, it gives them an air of credence and authority. It also makes attaining corporate membership that little more difficult, which can only serve to raise the standards of the industry. DJ

Posted By IT Too late Bob, It’s not there ...just checked I am assuming that TechSP/GradSP can also put their views in here also?

Posted By Jonathan Carrick Thanks Anne.

Posted By Andrew Böber Becoming Chartered has profound significance for all Health & Safety Practitioners as now some 20,000 of us will be able to plot ourselves on a whole series of topographically maps. Andrew John Robertson Böber

Posted By David P. Johnson Let me answer that question by posing another: Would you gladly pay a higher fee to utilise the services of a Chartered Accountant, rather than one that isn't chartered? ;-) I think that the kudos is, in all honesty, the key benefit we can aspire for at this moment in time. Lets improve the image of the profession, and of health and safety itself, before we hope for more money. DJ

Posted By David P. Johnson 20 CPD points over two years, that's one cpd point a month, with Christmas off and none to do during your statutory holidays. It'll hardly fuel the economy with increased revenues from the divorce courts. ;-) DJ

Posted By David P. Johnson :-O You divorced masochist! I think you hit the nail right on the head, so to speak. DJ

Posted By Andrew Böber CPD is vital not only for our continued professional development but to ensure that we are what we claim to be – which is ‘professionals’. Albeit ones aligned with those other professionals who are also loathed, the guessing is where we fit in-between Chartered Accountants and Chartered Solicitors on this Clarkson scale of contempt. Nonetheless, although 20 points is a marginally sum set against 24mth period I cannot but agree that a provision should be given to mitigate against serious circumstances which can affect this progression – as aside from illness or injury many members also face other such unfortunate events such as bring kidnapped or marooned. Equally so it is not unreasonable to assume that say a member is standard on some piddling insignificant island for a number of years that upon their rescue and return to civilisation that they will have any conception of contemporary changes within safety law and practices. Some may argue further than having returned to civilisation why then they would want to depart into something as uncivilised as health and safety again. Many more would contend that the rest of civilisation would have benefited had they not even been rescued in the first place. For myself, and from this week, after five years of being a member of IOSH and having worked through various safety courses, a risk management post-grad and yet still continuing my academic studies into Epidemiology, I cannot help but feel a sense of elation that we are at long last befitted with a Royal Charter for our endeavours. No matter by what route one has found their way to CMIOSH / CFIOSH it is a distinct mark of professional which your run-of-the-mill yellow-page consultants will not be able to muster next to. What seems important now is that IOSH, as both the Institution and its members, promote the context chartered status whenever and wherever possible. Or reasonable practicable. Andrew John Robertson Böber

Posted By David P. Johnson People seem to be mentioning quite a lot the need for professional accreditation in specialist fields - do people really think this is a direction that IOSH should be formally moving toward in the longer term? Do the Specialist Groups not already do this in part? Isn't the idea of competence about being multidisciplinary - your qualifications and experience in occupational safety and health are only of any use if you have knowledge of an industry to practice in, be that law, medicine, construction, health-care or whatever. How could IOSH possibly cater for every industry or area of trade? Excuse my rhetoric thinking. DJ

Posted By Raymond Rapp Very profound Al, but I really think we need to do more than just put a 'C' in front of our name if the profession is to be taken seriously. In fact, many project managers et al quite often use it and not as a term of endearment! Ray

Posted By gham Keith has an excellent point, Asking members or those, like myself who are endevouring to become members will give, in general, a positive, I don't think that anyone who is involved with safety will argue that the Chartered status is a paricularily bad thing. Already though there is an indication that gaining chartered membership will allow CMIOSH members to line their pockets, but it should be remembered that employers enjoy spending as little as possible on safety already therefore your pitch will have to be more robust. Remember Accountants are good at finding ways of making the books look good for audits and tax purposes, Surveyors are good a screwing prices down for builds and maintenance to a minimum thus the impact or cost benifit of having such skilled professionals is very tangable is very ,, so they cost a bit more but they will save us thousands,,,. Employers have to understand the benifits of employing Chartered safety professionals. So should there not be a survey of employers (not those specialising in safey of course, like consultants) to find out if they understand the benifits of employing a CMIOSH. Do they understand the benifits let alone would they be willing to pay them more money