New Level Recruitment – helping you recruit the best Health & Safety staff
Health and Safety qualifications and what they mean!
There are so many different Health & Safety qualifications and professional memberships in the market that it can be difficult to know what means what! We are always happy to talk to you about these issues and to help you decide which level of experience and qualifications would best suit your company’s needs but in the meantime we hope the information on this sheet will be of use to you.
It is important to remember though, that in Health & Safety, relevant experience can be just as important as qualifications, and that there are many very experienced and able H&S professionals in the industry who may hold very few qualifications at all!
Basically, the most common H&S qualifications can be graded according to the level of depth of knowledge they represent (as per the QCA guidelines)
Generally speaking, Level 3 qualifications are aimed at managers, supervisors and employee representatives who require the knowledge in order to carry out their Health and Safety duties more effectively.
Level 4 – 6 qualifications are designed for people seeking a professional career in Health and Safety.
Common Health and Safety Qualifications
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QCA Level |
Qualification |
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Level 3 |
British Safety Council Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health (Cert CIEH Advanced H&S Certificate NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Safety and Health NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate NVQ/SVQ Level 3 in Occupational Health and Safety Practice |
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Level 4 |
NEBOSH Diploma Part 1 and 2 in Occupational Safety and Health Practice NVQ/SVQ Level 4 in Occupational Health and Safety Practice |
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Level 6 |
British Safety Council Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health (Dip BSc/BSc (Hons.) in Occupational Health and Safety Management MSc/PGD/PGC in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Management MSc/PGD in Occupational Health and Safety Management MSc/PGD/PGC in Occupational Safety, Health and Environment NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health NEBOSH Environmental Diploma NVQ/SVQ Level 6 in Occupational Health and Safety * Post Grad. Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety |
Professional bodies associated with the Health & Safety industry
British Safety Council (BSC)
www.britishsafetycouncil.co.uk
The British Safety Council was founded in 1957 and is one of the world's leading occupational health, safety and environmental organisations. Their purpose is to promote health, safety and environmental best practice for the benefit of society and the increase of productivity.
Corporate membership only.
International
The IIRSM is a professional body for Health and Safety practitioners. It was created to advance professional standards in accident prevention and occupational health throughout the world.
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Member MIIRSM
Associate AIIRSM
Affiliate Affiliate
Student Student
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
IOSH is the Chartered body for Occupational Safety and Health professionals. The IOSH membership structure was revised in 2005 to a system based on national vocational standards where all the elements of competence are assessed.
The revised membership structure is as follows:
Chartered Fellow CFIOSH
Chartered Member CMIOSH
Graduate Member Grad IOSH
Technician Member Tech IOSH
Affiliate Member Affiliate
The qualifications and number of years experience required to meet the standard for each level varies.
Associate for Project Safety (APS)
www.associationforprojectsafety.co.uk
The Association for Project Safety provides a forum for all those individuals, organisations and relevant authorities involved in the supervision, management and education of health and safety practices, processes and procedures in the undertaking of construction projects as defined in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 [CDM2007].
Membership by examination.
WHat is so sad is the quality of some of these qualifications as well as the fact that the employer does not (this is a generelization for South Africa) really want to spend the money to send workers on good quality courses. They support the market of "fly-by-night" cheap training and believe they have done their duty towards themselves and their employees no matter how effective or the lack thereof the end results may be. Can anybody assist with who offers a PhD in Safety Management or Occupational Safety or H&S, please? www.christelfouche.com
Posted by: Christel Fouche | July 28, 2008 at 09:30 AM
This was an excellent site for information, well done.
Posted by: Tony Starks | May 24, 2008 at 10:07 AM