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What courses should I take initially?
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Hello all, just looking for some advice on what courses will be most advantageous in enabling me to get into a career within the Health and Safety sector. I definitely plan on doing the NEBOSH national general certificate to gain a sound base knowledge; I will then go on to study to gain NEBOSH certificate in fire safety and risk and also NEBOSH Environmental certificate. The end goal is to gain the NEBOSH Diploma however having relatively little knowledge of health and safety as a subject matter thought it best to work up to it with a logical route. I will also study for the NEBOSH certificate in construction as thats where I can see myself working in a perfect world.
Is anyone able to advise on if there is a better route into the industry or if i'm missing any qualifications that you would think would be wise to achieve.
Any advice greatfully recieved!
Matt
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi Matt,
For a foundation the NEBOSH General Certificate is a solid start. I would recommend you do that first and rather than seek merely to get over the pass mark, actually immerse yourself in the breadth of the syllabus. Not only will this actually make the exams feel easier, more importantly it will help identify topic areas that you find interesting, or also identify specific holes in your background knowledge.
This understanding will help you decide the next qualification route to take from a more enlightened position than today. For example, when I did my NGC many years ago, I was working for a chemical company in an engineering role. Although the aspects of Process Safety and Construction came relatively easy the course introduced me to aspects of ergonomics and human performance which have provided me with lots of interesting opportunities ever since.
My overriding advice is to take each step at a time (although you'll take some steps quicker than others) and resist the temptation to put yourself in a silo... that's a skill you'll need for the next decade as others may well put you into one...
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 1 user thanked Wailes900134 for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hi Matt Good advice from Wailes but, depending on what you are currently doing, I would also consider routes other than a series of NEBOSH qualifications, particularly, if like some, you do not thrive in examination conditions. If you are working in a role with a substantial element of health, safety (and possibly environment) in it, then an NVQ might be one choice - about putting together a portfolio of evidence and you could use your day to day work for much of that portfolio, which might make it an easier sell, if you would benefit from some investment of time and money by your employer. Another increasingly popular route is the NCRQ which is two European Qualifications Certificates at Level 3 followed by a third module taking you to Level 6. That's about assignments that are less likely to be as immediately obviously relevant to your current job which get you thinking about the principles that will apply however your career evolves. Good luck, whatever you decide. P
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1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
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Rank: New forum user
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Thanks for both the replies!
Cheers for your input Wailes! Okay that makes sense i am due to start the general certificate in april. The reason i'm trying to get info on which courses to cover is because the funding for the courses is going to be through my employer. I three sets of two thousand pounds funding towards education, I can only use one per financial year. The company I am doing the certificate through have quoted 1550 pounds for the general, and if I was to just go for this I would lose the remaining 450 of the entitlement. So that's why I am considering pairing it with either the fire safety and risk or environmental. In an ideal world I would certainly just do the General certificate first and then consider my options, however this would result in losing budget entitlement.
Peter, firstly thanks for the advice! I hadn't really considered the ther qualifications, although I have vaguely looked over them.
My current role does not really give me opurtunity to have much exposure into the health and safety side of the work place; I am working on trying to change this however hitting brick walls as you can imagine! With regards to the NCRQ I realise that it is a level 6 qualification, do employers regard that qualification and the NEBOSH Diploma the same? Or is there a prefered qualification in the industry?
Cheers,
Matt
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Rank: Forum user
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Ahh ok,
In that case I'd couple it with environment. This will give you an insight into the background of the differing regulatory approaches as well as the broader base knowledge base that the modern OSH practitioner perhaps needs even if E doesn't form a big part of their advisory role.
Alternatively some training providers (particularly e learning) will develop you a personal package to your £2000 with the main Cert and some supplement short courses. PM for a personal recommendation of one I've worked with on and off in different roles for 15 years.
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1 user thanked Wailes900134 for this useful post.
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Rank: New forum user
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Originally Posted by: Wailes900134  Ahh ok,
In that case I'd couple it with environment. This will give you an insight into the background of the differing regulatory approaches as well as the broader base knowledge base that the modern OSH practitioner perhaps needs even if E doesn't form a big part of their advisory role.
Alternatively some training providers (particularly e learning) will develop you a personal package to your £2000 with the main Cert and some supplement short courses. PM for a personal recommendation of one I've worked with on and off in different roles for 15 years.
Okay, will message you now!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Matt92 I would always recommend to someone with your lack of any H&S background that you first attend the IOSH Managing Safely Course.
This will enable you to become familiar with certain terminology, processes and basic procedures which will assist you in your NEBOSH studies. They are going to throw a lot of information at you on the NEBOSH certificate course and being armed with this foundamental information will improve your study time.
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1 user thanked O'Donnell54548 for this useful post.
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....restart my career... Judging by your current choice you seem unable to follow basic instructions - better start a fresh career Reported
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Rank: Super forum user
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....restart my career... Judging by your current choice you seem unable to follow basic instructions - better start a fresh career Reported
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Rank: New forum user
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Originally Posted by: O'Donnell54548 Matt92 I would always recommend to someone with your lack of any H&S background that you first attend the IOSH Managing Safely Course.
This will enable you to become familiar with certain terminology, processes and basic procedures which will assist you in your NEBOSH studies. They are going to throw a lot of information at you on the NEBOSH certificate course and being armed with this foundamental information will improve your study time.
Cheers for the advice! Will definitely look into getting that done prior then!
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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4 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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slavicd - suggest you read the Forum Rules, particularly Rule 8. REPORTED.
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1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
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REPORTED for hyperlinks to a single provider
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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REPORTED for hyperlinks to a single provider
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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