Posted By Amjad Ata Hi, I wiould to know more information about the subject mentioned above (how to be RSP .. etc) Thanks in advance Amjad

Posted By Hazel Harvey Sheila is quite right. The Register of Safety Practitioners held by IOSH was withdrawn on 17th November 2005. All those on the register were transferred to Chartered Membership of IOSH. At the same time the category of Member was withdraw, other than for those people who are making their way to the Chartered status (CMIOSH) by demonstration of CPD activity. This will then disappear at the end of 2007. All new entrants to IOSH holding higher level accredited qualifications need to spend at least 2 years in the Graduate Member category whilst they complete a period of assessed Initial Professional Development (IPD). Hazel Harvey Director of Professional Affairs

Posted By Ian Mitchell Hi Hazel, Also, I joined as a humble techIOSH member this year. I am now undertaking CPD (and finding it very useful). What will be my membership progression route from now on in? I thought techIOSH, MIOSH, CMIOSH (touch wood!) but this has confused me. Cheers Ian M

Posted By Ian Mitchell Hi again Hazel, does this mean I will now go techIOSH - gradIOSH - minimum 2 years - CMIOSH? No snootiness intended I promise, but I would feel that gradIOSH from techIOSH is a retrograde step as the letters on their own do not distinguish between newbies' and those with, quite feasibly, many years experience, whether or not the latter's tenure in the gradIOSH bracket would be arguably much shorter. I am proud of my humble achievements thus far (for the 'right' reasons of demonstrating professional integrity) and I am worried that some of the (admittedly very limited) 'kudos' of my letters would be diluted. Hope this has come across correctly as I am not snooty! Ian M

Posted By Paul Hay Without wishing to hyjack this thread or to open an old can of worms, I do wonder how many current Techs would prefer to keep the postnominals TechIOSH (although they would actually hold Graduate membership)once they have attained the relevent quals. I am 2 thirds way through my level 6 (hope to complete by the end of the year)and beleive that many peoples perception of Graduate membership would be a 21 year old out of uni with no experience, despite in my case 12 years experience. I think its a shame that IOSH didn't take this into account. Just my thoughts! P

Posted By Ian Mitchell Hiya Hazel. Thank you for taking our enquiries in the spirit they were meant. I do know that IOSH values all of its members whether they are affiliates or chartered fellows. Interesting point about the technician designation. Will this eventually become obsolete also, ending up with affiiates (no letters), grads and CM/CFIOSH's? How about Grad(Tech)IOSH? Would this self-explanatory designation get me in trouble? Regards Ian

Posted By Mev I remember a lot of people threatening to leave IOSH when they lost TechSP, I wonder if many did? I know i did

Posted By Hazel Harvey Ian, I don't think I would have any objection to the hybrid designation but I am not sure that Council Members who make the poilcy may feel the same. I'll certainly float this before the Professional Committee (PC) at their next meeting to get their reaction. The Byelaws are quite specific on the designations that are used which could go against use like this. In some of the early discussions by the PC there was a proposal to withdraw the Technician Membership category. However, the elected IOSH Council over-ruled this as they believed that the Technician Members were important in the delivery of health and safety in the workplace and that the combination of Chartered and Techncian Members was important in their complementary roles. So I guess the answer to your query is that it is extremely unlikely that the Techncian Member category will be removed. It is now firmly established in the IOSH Byelaws which were approved by the Privy Council. IOSH currently have 9,616 Techncian Members so I guess the answer to how many have left is very few any member who may have left is, of course, welcome back if they choose. The new membership structure is spelt out in detail in the 'about membership' section to the left of this screen but just to clarify there is no longer a MIOSH category for new entrants, it is only those members, who joined before November 17th 2005, who are eligible for transitional arrangments who can use CPD to progress to Chartered Member. For new entrants, with higher level accredited qualifications (see the list in about membership) the route is Graduate Member then a period of Initial Professional Development which includes a formal assessment or development of a skills portfolio (depending on route of entry) and a peer review interview as well as completing CPD. Hazel Harvey Director of Professional Affairs

Posted By Hazel Harvey Ian, No you can't move up the membership ladder by competing CPD alone. The only people doing this were those who were already qualified to MIOSH level before the new byelaws were introduced. They would have had to have an accredited qualification and be able to demonstrate 3 years OHS Practice experience to have entered this grade. CPD is now a requirement for all members other than Affiliates so as a Technician Member you need to complete as you will when you are a Graduate Member. You will also have to undertake the IPD requirements satisfactorily before moving to Chartered Membership. CPD is about maintaining and developing competence and is an on-going process, it is not really about initial development. The transitional arrangements recognise that people already have demonstrated their initial competence but also show that they are committed to maintaining these levels of knowledge and skills. Hazel Harvey Director of Professional Affairs