Posted By paul miles I am thinking of studying for a B.S.C diploma in safety management rather than taking the nebosh diploma pt1,what are the differences betwwen the two and is the bsc diploma a nationally recognised qualification the same as the nebosh diploma?

Posted By Hazel Harvey The British Safety Council Diploma is currently accepted for Affiliate membership of IOSH. The NEBOSH Diploma part 1 gives TechSP membership (equated to National standard level 3) and the part 2 MIOSH level membership (national standards level4) Most employers now require MIOSH so the NEBOSH route could well be the best way through.

Posted By Jay Joshi The BSC Diploma provides you with a qualification that is nationally & internationally “RECOGNISED” and provides underpinning knowledge requirements to undertake NVQ level 3 & 4 in OH&S practice on similar basis as the NEBOSH two part Diploma. The question of “recognition” is a vexed/complex one because you have to ask by what body and to whom did you ask? Neither the BSC Diploma in Safety Management nor the NEBOSH two part Diploma is currently accredited by the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA)-which is the main body for accreditation of QUALIFICATIONS! So in that respect both are at par.(The QCA is the regulatory body for public examinations and publicly funded qualifications and QCA takes the lead in designing and developing a coherent national framework of qualifications which meets the needs of education, training, individuals and employers. It defines and maintains clear and high standards of quality assurance expected of awarding bodies) Then the next point is "professional body membership". There is no doubt that IOSH is a leading professional membership body for safety practitioners and for historical reasons more widely known. IOSH has not accredited the BSC Diploma for corporate membership in its more “sophisticated” membership structure and by default gives the lowest level of membership-"Affiliate" to BSC Diploma Holders-which anyone with an interest in health & safety (but without a qualification) can get!! The reasons behind this are historical/commercial and efforts are being made by British Safety Council to remedy this discrepancy. That does not translate into a BSC Diploma holder not being competent and that prospective employers will not employ them. Approximately, more than 6000 candidates have completed/passed the BSC Diploma and many hold very senior positions and are equally COMPETENT as their collegues who have qualified via the NEBOSH route. The fact that the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM) has widened its "Full Membership" criteria to include NVQ Level 3 plus at least 3 years experience does not mean that the BSC Diploma is of less value or its holders less “competent” as was implied in another discussion. The different modes of examination attracts its share of critics-none have a "exam criteria" that certifies COMPETENCE. Employers do state MIOSH and/or RSP for job adverts, but that may be due to the SHP-The S & H Practitioner being an IOSH magazine and lack of knowledge of other qualifications amongst employers. An extract of the guidance to Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 states, "Employers are advised to check the appropriate health and safety qualifications (some of which may be competence-based and/or industry specific), or membership of a professional body or similar organisation (at an appropriate level and in an appropriate part of health and safety) to satisfy themselves that the assistant they appoint has a sufficiently high level of competence. Competence-based qualifications accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Scottish Qualifications Authority may also provide a guide." It does not list the qualifications or the professional body! "Qualifications" and "Professional Membership Levels" are not the same, but linked and the former leads to the latter --"MIOSH" is not a qualification and even in the SHP, employers as advertisers have got confused between the two. Most organisations evolve and improve -so has The British Safety Council-The British Safety Council of today is quality assured to ISO 9002 and is committed to continuous improvement. --This includes its Diploma in Safety Management.. What you have to decide is that in your particular set of circumstances, the route you want to follow-and if Corporate Membership of IOSH is your goal, then you obviously need a qualification that IOSH currently accredits. But that does not mean that there are no other options or that IOSH is the only professional membership body for Safety Practitioners albeit a leading one. The deciding factor is COMPETENCE -- and that is something that cannot be gauged by qualifications and/or level of professional membership alone. Most enlightened employers do not primarily depend on qualifications or level of membership of professional bodies --they tend to structure the selection process to "test" other skills and qualities required for the job. To put my comments in perspective, I have been (and continue to be) a member of both IOSH & IIRSM, prior to working for British Safety Council--my current employer-and I have tried to be as objective as I can. !!!!