How to start a career in Health and Safety
Your Career in Health & Safety
A career in health and safety can be both lucrative and fulfilling. On a typical day, you can expect to be using your knowledge and skill-set to reduce work-related accidents, injuries and illness. You may also be responsible for devising health and safety policies and ensuring that employers and employees follow them. If you’re contemplating a career in healthy and safety, here’s some useful advice (don’t forget to visit our homepage for updated courses, we constantly update them to the latest publications):
Health & safety qualifications
The qualifications you need will depend on the type of job you are looking for. While there are many different professional courses that can be taken, it’s a good idea to start with a short introductory course for beginners, such as the NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work qualification. To gain a broad understanding of health and safety issues, many people go on to study the NEBOSH General Certificate. Largely considered as an essential qualification for most health and safety roles, this course covers key topics such as managerial duties, how to conduct an adequate risk assessment and how to investigate risks.
When you are ready to advance in your career, or you require specialist knowledge, you can then go on to study a more detailed course, such as a NEBOSH diploma. To work as a full time health and safety practitioner, you will usually need a higher qualification approved by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
Method of study
An important factor to consider when training for a qualification is your method of study.
Bear in mind that completing a health and safety course can be challenging, especially if you are trying to juggle work and other commitments. To ensure that you succeed, you may want to consider a study programme that has flexible hours, such as an e-learning course. By using web-based learning methods, you don’t have to be tied down to classroom schedules and you can study at your own pace.
Work experience (in health & safety)
Before you begin studying for a qualification, it’s a good idea to gain practical experience in a health and safety role. This will give you an idea of the types of challenges you may face later in your career and show prospective employers that you are keen and have an interest in the industry. A background in manufacturing, engineering or construction may also be particularly useful.
Another option is to start off by being a health and safety representative or trade union member for your current employer. Any kind of health and safety related work experience will give you a good head start when applying for future roles.
So you advice to start with the introductory then gain the IGC.
I have good background about Occupational H&S and would like to decide which course I should start with.
So can you provide more details of subjects covered in both courses?
And also cost of both e-learning training courses please.
Regards,
Saeed Shishani
Thanks for contacting SHEilds.
With regards to your query and by analysing your previous back ground – We would highly suggest you to enhance your career by choosing the option of NEBOSH IGC, this will be the first step towards your professional development leading onto higher NEBOSH qualification such as International Diploma in OHS.This course will help you understand the core knowledge of Health & Safety whilst making the foundation strong.
NEBOSH IGC compromises of 3 units:
For better understanding of the pricing structure , please see the below link :
NEBOSH International General Certificate pricing
Thank you for such a wonderful advice given for global consumption.
I’m an administration and management first degree holder, humbly seeking to venture into a new field of study thus Safety and Health Management.
Help me to get the clue please, Since I have no background in safety and health management, can I choose safety and health management career path and how can I be successful in it.
Hello Evans,
It’s great you’re interested in starting a new career in health and safety management. As you have very little existing knowledge of health and safety, it’s best to start with an entry level qualification, such as the IOSH Working Safely course, which takes around 6 hours to complete. Entry level qualifications introduce basic concepts of health and safety in every day working activities.
If you are feeling confident you can also opt to go for the IOSH Managing Safely qualification, which covers more topics and does actually focus on management systems specifically. So, the managing safely qualification may be a great option for you, you may already be familiar with some of the management systems covered due to your administration management background. The managing safely course takes around 30 hours of study to complete.
Progressing further you can then go for a NEBOSH General Certificate, which comes in two flavours. The National General Certificate and the International General Certificate. If you are working in the UK, go for the National variety, however if you are working outside of the UK, it’s the International General Certificate you should study. The primary difference between these two qualifications is that the National version covers legislation and UK based law, however the International version covers international best practices and there is not so much legal/law jargon to learn.
If you’d like any further advice, we have dedicated course advisers who can help you make your decision.
Kind regards
Dear,
I have just started a new role in HSE, previously I was trainee process engineer in a petrochemical industry. I have Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering. Kindly suggest me the career path best suited for me.
Thanks in advance.
Hello Zubair,
Congratulations on your new role.
The best career path is the one that makes you happiest, If you have a job you love you never need to work a day in your life :-)
As you have a role in HSE already I would suggest that as a minimum you should take the NEBOSH general certificate which will give you the base core knowledge to be able to undertake your duties professionally. If you then decide that an HSE career is for you I would suggest specialising in your chosen area (environmental, Fire safety, Oil and Gas etc).
Why not speak to a course adviser at your local SHEilds office who will be able to suggest an educational route that fits your ambitions and goals.
Regards
Hi, this is a great piece and I am most grateful not just for my personal insight, but for those users who will come after me to read and direct the course of their career path. I am Sammie from Nigeria, I have Bsc in Microbiology and I want to take Health and Safety as my primary goal and build my career. I was advised to take the NEBOSH IGC course which I will take next month in Abuja Novelle Centre, I want to know if that alone qualifies me to venture into HS or will I need adhoc certification on top of my BSC. Also what are the job opportunities in HSE ? It would be sad after spending time and money to get this certification and there are limited opportunities. I will love if I can be granted a personal adviser to speak to me on this journey. Once again Great job guys !! Sammie from Nigeria
Hello Sammie,
Thank you for your kind words regarding our blog.
Taking the IGC is an excellent place to start your NEBOSH education and will allow you to start applying for HSE related roles providing a platform for you to continue your growth and gain valuable workplace experience. There are many opportunities for employment for NEBOSH holders both within Nigeria and worldwide.
I would suggest speaking with one of our advisers who will hold a professional discussion with you and offer suggestions on further education based on your employment goals.
Regards
Hi! I’m planing to start a career in health and safety, but I’m not sure if my previous work experience can be considered as H&S experience. At the moment I’m working in the large distribution center as a security officer and before I use to work on construction site, army and mearchant navy. I’ve got First Aid cert, SOLAS safety of life at sea, Gas & Oil tanker familirisation course, I also had couple live experience in preventing oil polution spiladges. In nearest future I’m planning to do a general NEBOSH course. So if anyone can help me with any advice I’ll b very thankfull!
Hello Eugene,
Your previous experience and qualifications within the safety field will definitely put you in a good position to start building towards your goal of becoming a HSE expert.
Your plan of taking and passing your NEBOSH general Certificate will build on the knowledge you have gained and provide you with a professional globally recognised occupational health and safety management qualification that is demanded by many companies as a minimum to apply for HSE related roles.
I would suggest contacting your local SHEilds office and speaking with one of our course advisers who will be able to delve deeper into your previous exposure to HSE related duties and your ambitions and advise on the correct study route for yourself.
Local office contact details
Regards
Good day please I need some career advice. Two years ago(2017) I completed my bachelor’s degree in Environment and Development studies. Then I did a compulsory service for my nation in a government budget office for a year. I want to proceed to gain a health and safety qualification like Nebosh or Master’s in. Oil and Gas management with Iosh managing safely as part of the course but I don’t have any work experience in what I want to do. How do I proceed?
Hi Christina,
Already having completed a degree in Environment and Development, you’ll have a lot of previous knowledge to draw upon and are more likely to success in passing the Oil & Gas certificate. The main difference between an Academic Degree qualification you already have and NEBOSH qualifications, such as the Oil & Gas is that NEBOSH qualifications are a lot more practical and the courses train you how to deal with real-world situations when applying your knowledge and skills learnt during your studies. There’s also a lot of industry specific terminology you’ll need to learn.
The NEBOSH International Technical Certificate in Oil and Gas Operational Safety certificate is particularly difficult for a certificate level qualification. Those studying the Oil & Gas cert are usually already familiar with the industry and there’s a lot of engineering processes you are already expected to be aware of prior to undertaking the qualification. I would say the Oil & Gas cert is probably the most difficult out of the certificate level qualifications from NEBOSH to achieve. However, once qualified your career opportunities will be greatly improved – the NEBOSH Oil & Gas is highly esteemed internationally and is the go-to industry defacto qualification for Oil & Gas safety.
We offer IOSH Working / Managing safely qualifications, which for someone at your level of study should be relatively easy for you to achieve. The IOSH Managing Safely course in particular will help you become familiar with basic safety management systems, applicable to all environment types. You’ll find this a great stepping stone to help get you started within Health & Safety as a career.
If you feel you are capable of learning a lot of new technical aspects of the Oil &Gas industry along with the safety aspects covered within the course, then this would be a great choice you for. If you have any doubts of are curious what to expect in your studies, please contact us via a contact form and state you’d like a trial of the Oil & Gas cert where you’ll be able to see some materials, which will allow you to gauge the level of study expected from this course.
Good luck!
Hello Eugene
I am a fresh graduate studied ,microbiology in Nigerian. I want to have a career in health and safety, so I recently completed my HSE LEVEL 1-3 course and I am about enrolling for me NEBOSG IGC. What I want to know is what next do I need to do after this. Would really appreciate your swift reply.
Best regards
Hi Eugene,
Once you’ve completed your IGC course, a higher level qualification for you to attempt next would be the NEBOSH International Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety.
Alternatively if you’d rather undertake a qualification which is more practical rather than Academic the NVQ Level 6 Diploma In Occupational Health & Safety is great for On-the-Job studies. NVQs allow you to use existing paper work you collect for your job role within a company – you must already be employed and satisfy an Enrolment Questionnaire to be eligible for this qualification.
With either of the above qualifications, once you pass you’ll be qualified to the highest levels allowing you to perform as a senior health & safety officer for example.
Hey, currently I’m pursuing NEBOSH, I have appeared for IGC1 and I will be facing GC2 and GC3 next month. I have already completed IOSH training. I have an experience in civil and environment field for just 2 years, but not switching to safety, now this is my current status. What should be my approach after appearing GC2 and GC3.
Hello Tarun,
Firstly I’m guessing you intended to say “now switching to safety” rather than “not switching to safety”. If the interpretation is incorrect, please post back here for more guidance.
It’s great that you have the experience within the civil and environmental field – some of the knowledge you have learnt in these fields will be useful during your H&S studies.
If you wish to pursue a career in Health & Safety you are definitely on the right track. Once you’ve successfully completed your GC2 & GC3 exams and have gained the NEBOSH International Certificate qualification, it’s a good idea to look at two things to consider first.
Do you want to specialise in any particular area of H&S or do you want to progress further to gain higher level qualifications.
1. To Specialise: Consider, are you working in any specific areas of environmental safety, construction safety, fire safety or oil & gas operational safety? These are specific to the industry in which you work or intend to work. It’s a good idea to get the right qualification for the right kind of role/job position. You’re also more attractive to employers if you have the right set of qualifications for a job role. We have a number of specific courses for particular areas, you can find those here: Types of NEBOSH Courses
2. Gain Higher Qualification(s): The other consideration is if you want to gain a higher level qualification. This is often the approach for those wishing to achieve a higher salary or to move up within senior management. In this case, we would recommend you either attempt the NEBOSH International Diploma. or the ProQual NVQ Level 6 Diploma.
The difference between NEBOSH Diplomas & ProQual NVQ Diplomas is that NEBOSH is more academic, similar to what you’ve already studied, but obviously covers more in-depth concepts and is also more difficult to pass. You will need to sit at least 3 examinations & a practical project. NEBOSH Diplomas take around 18 months to complete typically.
NVQ Diplomas can be studied along side your job role and is more about practical application.
NVQ Diplomas are not a traditional academic course, such as the likes of NEBOSH courses. There are no exams and you can use the evidence you may already have towards a set of competencies to pass. Basically, you use the documentation for the role you perform at work to contribute to passing the qualification. This is a great option and avoids the need to turn up to an exam centre also, which is a cost saving. The time frame to complete an NVQ is around the same as a NEBOSH Diploma, however it is possible to complete the NVQ much quicker if you already have the right documentation to contribute – that’s right, you can use your historical documentation towards the qualification too!
I hope this information helps you with your options, if you need any thing else, please contact us via an enquiry form and a course adviser will provide all the guidance you may need.
Regards
I am interested with Nebosh IGC, however I do not have any job experience and I am not a degree holder however I am a college undergraduate in BS Industrial Engineering and is done with my undergraduate research. Is it advisable to take nebosh igc without a bachelors degree and what job will I be qualified with onlu nebosh certificate?
Hi Hazel,
Great question! The first thing you should be aware of is that a NEBOSH International General Certificate is not a degree level qualification. The IGC is approximately equivalent to a British A-Level qualification and is a level 3 on the National Qualification Framework.
To give you an idea, University Degrees are considered as Level 6 on the same NFQ framework. Therefore as you are already studying a Level 6 qualification in Industrial Engineering, you should have no problem taking on an IGC qualification as you have already demonstrated you can study at a higher level.
There are no prerequisite requirements or limitations that may prevent you from enrolling on the course. This means you can enrol without a degree. The only stipulated requirement is that the student candidate must have an adequate understanding of the English Language in order for them to articulate the concepts covered within the IGC syllabus.
SHEilds have produced an English test, which helps evaluate a students English capability if they are a none native English speaker or where English is not an official language in the country the student is from. However looking at your comment, you clearly have no issues with the English language!
In terms of job roles, you will be a qualified health & safety professional once you’ve pass the IGC. You may not be qualified at the higher end of the scale, but qualified none the less! This means you can perform health & safety inspections and manage health & safety systems in a number of roles and more.
Something to consider is that being IGC qualified doesn’t mean you can’t use your other knowledge and qualifications to boost you job prospects. For example, your knowledge of Industrial Engineering would be ideal combined with an IGC for the role of “Quality and Safety Engineer” – you’ll find these roles in many factories or other industries like car manufacturing, medical or pharmaceutical production, metal works, plastic fabrication, etc. The list goes on!
Suitable Jobs for NEBOSH IGC Holders
I’ll provide a quick list of the types of job roles you would be suitable for; and include some which have an emphasis on Engineering:
Remember, the IGC qualification may assist you land an Engineering job or another role, which also relates to your other interests.
Gaining a IGC will open more job opportunities for you. Good luck with your options, if you need any more advice don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll guide you.
Hi, i am victor anthony a HND Holder in mechanical engineering and also a HSE level 1 & 2 certificate holder, in 2017 i had a diploma in TQM and ISO 9000, and presently i am working as a quality controller in a plastic industry.
But i want to specialise in safety.
Please advice how do i go about it and what are the steps i should take?
Hello Victor,
You have a great basis in experience and your existing qualifications to excel in the Occupational Health and Safety field and there are a number of routes you may wish to take.
An NVQ in health and safety may be a great option to follow as this type of qualification allows you to use documentation/paperwork involved in your daily tasks in your current role as evidence of your competency. You can even use historic documents to contribute towards the qualification, which can really reduce the amount of time it takes to complete it. There are no exams for NVQ’s meaning you can avoid any costs associated with physical examinations (NEBOSH qualifications incur exam costs), such as transport, hotel/accommodation and time away from work, etc. An NVQ can be completed in a matter of months or you can take up to two years – If you wish to take longer, this can also be arranged with a course advisor here at SHEilds.
Here’s a quick link to our NVQs in Health and Safety – A level 6 NVQ may be the best choice given your experience and ability to study at a high level.
Alternatively if you would rather study a more academic course the NEBOSH General Certification is a great starting point. You can find more information in the links below, there are two versions available:
As you may need some guidance with the available course/qualification choices, a member of the SHEilds team will more than happy to assist you.
Regards
Hello, sorry I have some lengthy queries, ok starting from my past I have done my high school in 2010 after that I got some financial problems and I left my studies and joined in customer service related jobs in different types of companies. But somehow I didn’t like my job but still I did for money…okay now at point one of my friend told me to go in safety field and he told me about nebosh igc and all. Okay now I am thinking to do the same but I dnt have graduate degree so please help me what should I do from whre to start for my career. I am very keen to work as safety officer or like wise
Hello Riyan,
Your friend was quite correct – NEBOSH qualifications are the best way to enter the professional field of health and safety practice. You do not need a degree to enrol, all you need is an adequate understanding of the English language in order to take the course. I would recommend starting with a NEBOSH International General Certificate, you can find more information on the course here: NEBOSH International General Certificate 2019.
Have a quick look at the course information and if you’re still interested use one of our contact forms or online chat. An expert course advisor will get back in touch with you by phone or email and provide all the advise you need and the options available for you.
Good luck, it would be great to have you as another successful SHEilds student.
Am an HND holder in Electrical/Electronic engineering with some years of experience in fire and security systems. I want to start a career in health and safety, needs to know where and how to go about it. Thanks
Hello Friday, Have you contacted our team. We have a fantastic team of course advisors who will discuss with you the options that are available and best for you. You can contact them on success@sheilds.org or call one of our offices found in the contact us section of the website.
I am in my last year of sixth form and want to start a career in health and safety however there are not many apprenticeships in my area. I was wondering if there was any other routes to go down? Someone recommended me not to go straight into the NEBOSH as they said I would need knowledge in the construction area already which I currently have no knowledge in. Thanks
Hi Erin,
First of all, this will be very generic advice based on your message (ideally, we would like to take a few minutes to learn a bit more about your career goals, areas of interest in work, etc. to be able to give you the best personal advice). What we would recommend, is to start from the IOSH Managing Safely course (level 2), then progress to the NEBOSH General Certificate course (level 3). Once you have those (or whilst studying), you could try to approach local companies and ask if you could do voluntary work, shadowing the health and safety team and learning the job this way, as well as gaining the valuable experience.
Good luck!
Hi
Please I am currently doing the nebosh iGC
I wish to stop and do the diploma because the fee for the iGC is Half the price
My question is can I do the international diploma as a beginner without Haven been in the field,I.e I have no experience and wish to enroll asap for diploma and would like to complete studies in 2 years , so must I have experience before enroll for diploma e-learning
Waiting for your reply thanks
Hi Tumanjong,
Sure you could do the NEBOSH Diploma without experience, as there is no formal requirement for prior studies, although it is highly recommend by NEBOSH, that the candidate should have NEBOSH International general certificate prior to undertaking the Diploma. We, here at SHEilds, totally agree (as we can see the difference in success rates) that it would be beneficial to complete the IGC prior the diploma.
Here’s a link to both courses if you want to find out more – alternatively use a contact form and an expert course adviser will get in touch with you:
Good day. Kindly advise on which of your qualification I should enroll for. I’m currently doing my final year for a national diploma in safety management and have no experience.
Hello Rifumo,
Thank you for your enquiry. I would recommend the NEBOSH International General Certificate as a perfect starting point for your professional career in Health and Safety. From there, you can start building on and you will be able to use the skills you are studying currently (The NEBOSH International General Certificate is also most recognised professional level qualification and often it is the preferred qualification by the companies hiring health and safety staff).
Good evening
My current employment of 11 years as director of operations for a painting contractor includes for my duties as person responsible for all company HS, the company does have an external HS advisor my experience to date is working alongside the external advisor and obtaining SSIP compliance and accredited HS contracting approval,
I am responsible for carrying out all risk assessments and writing method of work statement and all general HS matters within the company,
Although HS can at times be time consuming in taking me away from other duties however, I do enjoy the varied role it offers and I am considering a HS career for the future.
Can you advise your thoughts of my background and where to begin with a course to set me on the right track.
Regards
Gordon Richens
Thank you for taking the time to explain your current situation and background, as this is really helpful for us to be able to give you some guidance, based on your personal situation.
The obvious answer would be to look at the NEBOSH National General certificate route, as this is the “normal” route for anyone looking to do their first formal health and safety qualification. But, as you mentioned, having had the responsibility for the last 11 years changes the situation quite a bit.
I would still say, that gaining the knowledge of the NEBOSH National general, would be a huge benefit, but at the same time, with your experience, we could also look at the NVQ level 6 route for you (which, in all fairness, would be something we would normally only offer for genuine health and safety experts, but your experience would possibly open this route for you too).
What I would recommend, is a conversation with one of our training experts here at SHEilds, to help you to see which route would be the best and most suitable for yourself, as we are happy to create a tailor-made solution for you and your training requirements.