The best thing to do Stephen is to speak with IOSH or start by looking at information on the web site. You don’t register as an IOSH trainer. You register to deliver specific courses. I registered my employer as an IOSH center to provide “Managing Safely” with myself as the named trainer. You can choose to get your own courses approved – but we thought that was a little expensive for us as a moment.

Do you register as a separate center or do you register your employer – well, that up to you, but whose time are you going to use to deliver the training, whos going to pay the annual license fee? If your thinking of offering external training, how are you going to get the time?  We are registered to provide external training – but don’t do so at the moment as we have not sorted out insurance cover to do this. When we eventually get in a position to offer the training, I will be more than happy to allow my company to use any fees to subsides my salary. But then I am probably coming towards the end of my H&S carrier, and while I love training, I think it would take a long time to build up a client base to make the switch to a full-time trainer.

Hello Stephen

Pleased to see your clear joy at expanding into training. Funny thing, but training is almost always a standard requisite of a safety & health post, yet the training of the SP contains very little for that skill. It has always troubled me - I had a training job before I moved into H&S, and drew on that all the time, aware that my NEBOSH Diploma had offered only the most peripheral insight into how people learn. To be fair, there is a lot to training and teaching, so maybe SPs should not do ANY unless we have a specific competency.

My suggested route to expand the SP competency is the adult training qualification: it was 'Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector' (PTLLS known as petals) which is now called AET apparently. 

I don't think becoming IOSH accredited for IOSH courses adds any weight (personal opinion), and that alone will not help much with developing your actual proficiency, which should include identifying 'training needs' too. IOSH would just give a framework, syllabus and some training aids. If your employer is wedded to the kudos element of having IOSH accredited courses, then it probably would be worth it if they pay. I don't have a view on company v personal.

You will learn a lot by just doing, buoyed by your TTT course. But I suggest you also do some reading around 'how people learn' and also on coaching techniques. This is because the skills cross over to those you are already using as an adviser or consultant. There's plenty of help via the university of Youtube.

There was an IOSH webinar on training for the agile workforce this week. It confirmed my thoughts - the move is to frequent short specifically focused learning content delivered in a variety of ways but mostly (and currently) remotely. It's the future. As you seem keen to continue in training, don't limit yourself.

Whatever you choose, good luck and ask questions here too.

I have been training other people for over 40 years (that was a shock when I worked that out) Not always H&S – was even a professional SCUBA instructor for a while. This was long before PTLLS or AET were even thought of! In that time I have completed numerous “Train the Trainer” course’s as things changed. When we as a company decided to register for Managing Safely I too did the IOSH Train the Trainer Course. Like any course some was a refresh but there were some bits and pieces I picked up that had changed over the years. Its fairly new so what its standing will be only time will tell. However I have to agree that if you are thinking of moving into a full time training course then AET is now the industry standard.

Follow-up to Brian at #6.     Not just full-time H&S trainers.

AET or similar will benefit any safety practitioner thinking about including any training within their role. In my opinion training skills should be part of the education of SPs but that's me going off on one.