Hi all,

I have been working as a full-time H&S Advisor for approximately 5 years in the London area. I have a NEBOSH NGC and IOSH Managing Safely but am a very conscious that I should always be bolstering my CV with additional qualifications. 

Can anyone please recommend some qualifications which are realistically achievable whilst also holding down a full-time job? I understand that the pass rate for the NEBOSH Diploma is quite low and ideally, I would rather avoid something where everything boils down to a day's worth of exams. Having said that, whenever I look at job adverts, employers always seem to favour NEBOSH accreditations rather than City & Guilds etc.

Just to add that I am considering moving to Australia in the future (I hold dual British/Australia citizenship) so it would be great if said qualification was recognised over there - I understand NEBOSH isn't really recognised in Australia. They appear to have their own qualifications over there.

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Many thanks for your response. 

I work within large-scale manufacturing but to be honest, I don't find it particularly interesting and my role unfortunately has/makes very little impact. 

It may sound like a shallow answer but I'm really just looking to future-proof my CV and ensure that when I do look for that new role, my CV has some credibility. 

The NCRQ sounds appealing due to its coursework-based nature but I suspect that there will always be a bias from the perspective employers towards NEBOSH. I suppose that I could also add the NEBOSH Fire and Construction certificates which would require nominal study time and finanial outlay. 

I am quite interested in the environmental side (I know that NEBOSH currently have a course in this) but I'm not sure whether there are sufficient roles available in this sector, either in the UK or abroad. 

Thanks again for your input.

I have quite extensive experience from an auditing perspective - ISO 9001 and ISO 45001. However, I don't have any qualifications in auditing. Would you be in a position to recommend any courses/qualifications? 

Would you happen to know anyone who has studied for the NEBOSH Environmental diploma and what their thoughts were on it?

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the NEBOSH Fire Certificate. Having already done half the qualification (having passed the NGC1), I suppose it makes it a sensible option.

Markeland

It is possible that your question 'Can anyone please recommend some qualifications which are realistically achievable whilst also holding down a full-time job?' may not be the most approprirate one to ask when you may move to look for work in Australia.

There is substantial evidence that cultrure and leadership are two factors that influence the quality of occupaitonal safety and practive;  reading relevant social scientists who have researched facets of these complex influence may well be the most cost-effective investment of your time in anticipation of moving down under.  The sociologist Anthony  Hopkins has been a signifcant influence acrros the continent there, and in different ways psychologists such as James Reason, Dom Cooper, Antony Grant and Edgar Schein have also been,  It's not difficult to trace and read their books and articles so that you can build up a good working knowledge of how to apply their research to design and evaluate interventions in work-relaed safety and health and to coach others to do likewise.