To add to the discussion I'd say that my strengths are not in technical expertise (or reciting legislation verbtim - I'm with Mr.Flibble on that one!) nor technical qualifications (I don't have any NEBOSH or IOSH qualifications, though I am CMIOSH) but in practice bsuiness-centric HSE that makes sense to commercial people, and leading teams to achieve the same!

Nor do i think industry experience is essential (but an ability to quickly adapt to different cultures and organisation is a must) as I've moved from retail to oil & gas, to warehouse & distribution to manufactruing in the space of 10 years in increasing more senior H&S roles.

It still surprises me to this day how many H&S professionals seem to still operatine in the old skool way, quoting legislation, telling business what they need to etc instead of integrating themelf into the management team and helping those teams do it themself..

If/when I recruit again for my team I won't be mandating any IOSH/NEBOSH qualification, but will look for a savy influential business professional that has a passion for risk management, and someone who can learn and absorb information - for me these are the key ingredients.

There's concensus amongst most it seems.

1. Most employment agencies, lets face it, are salesmen looking for leads and finding products to sell to that lead. They get a lead, (a role to fill) but they know nothing about the role except what they are told because they cant be experts in everything. The company manager tells the agency what they want, because they are used to 'telling' not asking. If a company have told the agency to look for the wrong thing, not done their homework, then that is indicative of how seriously they take Safety and Health in the company. Often they would invest more time if it were a new piece of production machinery or software. I suppose you've got to take that indicator and make a decision based upon it.

2. Specialist knowledge may give you an extra tool in your box, I agree. I have expertise in certain areas that I have worked in and that helps/will help in the future but to be honest it's never been a problem to me, understanding how things work or why a process neeeds to do what it does. I can grasp that pretty quickly to the level I need. We are not there to replace the designer (for example) we are there to put things into his mind that were not there before, and hopefully we can do that because we have an understanding of factors affecting safety and behaviour. I know I don't have any knowledge of (say) a bread making production line, but I might well be the only one there who thinks... hang on, what if...! Often expertise can put you TOO close to the system/activity/environment to see the bigger picture don't you think? Too busy wondering if theyCAN and not always wondering if they SHOULD. I think a risk aware person has a role to play even if they are not an expert in (say) bread making.

If I were a HR Director wanting an expert in bread making, and I didn't know anything about bread making, I'd ask a bread maker to help me write the job spec. Why don't they do the same with H&S jobs? You can't blame the agencies really....

I'm feeling hungry now...

Sector knowledge is vital. But I don't think it should be the deal bbreaker some think it should be. I've picked up a new client, well about a month ago. The make signs, in the first month I was asked to review all the RA. When I politely refused as I'd never seen the fitters actually working so that meant I couldn't comment on the RA. I asked for a site visit and all the management team looked in horror that I wanted to leave the office and see the guys working. Apparently the last bloke just blindly signed off all the RA saying the fitters were the experts and they must be right.

Not sure how long this client will keep me as I seem to have a very hands on approiach and the previous person was very reactive and didn't think about looking at the work process to try and prevent issues from accuring.

Originally Posted by: Rdot

Hi all,

I have been receiving CVs for a SHEQ advisor role and in the main the people applying are holding a nebosh general or construction cert.

Now I know qualifications aren't everything and experience also plays a key part.

I always thought that as a professional HS person holding NEBOSH diploma or equivalent qualification would be a minimum when applying for a professional SHEQ role.

I just wanted to know what the thoughts are on this and maybe this is the way the job market currently stands.

(Also i am not knocking anyone who holds SHEQ / HS role with a cert   - i just want to see what everyones thoughts are so i know how to progress with finding the right person)

Thanks

To return to the original question. Remember that you are advertising a multiple function role. H&S will only be one of these, which will also include environment and quality control. Do not make the mistake of requiring a 'jack of all trades' and then expecting them to be a master of one!

In the past I have written adverts for H&S adviser, manager, FRA person, etc. It never ceases to amaze me the variety of people who apply. Some without even a fraction of the requirements - hey ho.

It's true that qualifications alone do not maketh the man (woman) alone. However it is a good starting point without knowing the candidate.

Would you be answering this post that had run its course by 11th March 2019 had it not been resurrected by a spammer?