Hi I have been out of work for 5 months and getting a job in the architecture profession is proving very difficult. Am considering doing a course to get my NEBOSH General Certificate and doing the National Certificate in Construction H&S, with the aim of getting work as a Health & Safety Advisor, possibly in the construction trade or utilities.
Is anyone in this industry or career? If so what are the job prospects like at the moment and is someone with this qualification and 10 years experience in architecture running jobs on site likely to find work easily?
Its also a long term plan to become more qualified and the independence of being self-employed rather than working my ass of for firms who hire & fire you in a second.
Any advice or firms I could appoach to gauge post-qualification placement would be appreciated.

With 10yrs construction experience you’d get tech IOSH easily (just need a h&s qualification) also look into CDM co-ordination which is much more about design and less h&s and better money than h&s, for this look at the association of project safety (aps), most CDM jobs look for Rmaps and/or techIOSH.

I wouldn’t bother with the general cert as the construction cert is more applicable and covers the same basics.

Superdale,

Depending on who is funding it, and how minded/good you are at wrote learning I’d consider going straight to diploma level. Especially if you have some background in OSH. If not then the gen or construction are a good foot in the door.

There is a lot of temp contract work, not sure how permanent construction is, but experience plus CMIOSH, and some business sense is the ticket to higher end salaries. Have a look at SHP jobs.

Anything within the construction industry is still massively oversubscribed, I’m iosh qualified in “managing safely” and it’s not really worth anything now. My h and s advisor is hugely qualified, reasonably priced and good at what he does and has seen a massive downturn in work.
Things are starting to pick up but some of the most oversubscribed positions are still site managers/agents , project managers etc. obviously all qualifications help but I wouldn’t be blowing a load of cash on getting a qualification that may lead to nothing!

Thanks for the advice folks.
As a CDM Co-Ordinator would I still not need a NEBOSH General or Construction Certificate as well as the IOSH membership? The APS courses look to be 2-3 day so am guessing this is something I could get after my NEBOSH Gen Certificate?
I am currently looking to do a combinded General & Construction 3 week course for around £1600+ as I am informed I need the NGC1 to qualify for NCC1.
SHP is a very usefull tool for looking at what employers want and require – I would not want to restrict what area I could go into if the construction field is currently flooded with recruits looking for work but I guess that is what most of my on-site experience is in.
If I wanted to get additional credits to my Grad IOSH then could I take furthes courses in rail or utilities infrastructure.
Does anyone know of any NEBOSH or other course which is currently in demand in this country. I had thought taking an International Construction Cert would be long-term beneficial?

There are a few things here I should answer to. I must declare that I work as a course advisor for a Health and Safety training company but am not here to sell a course to you, rather maybe point you in the right direction.

It seems that being a CDM co-ordinator is something that would fit well with your experience so you should ideally complete the NEBOSH Construction Certificate level 3 course (usually 13-15 days) and a CDM co-ordinator course (2-3 days) that will give you the knowledge as described in the CDM regulations 2007 to act as a CDMC.

The NEBOSH courses are modular so you will take the NGC1 being the core module for all NEBOSH level 3 courses and then the NCC1 being the 2nd module to make up with qualification.

The NEBOSH level 3 qualifications will give you Tech IOSH once completed but the long term aim should be to look at gaining the Diploma level 6 and aim towards Chartered membership (CMIOSH). Any training company will not generally accept you on to the Diploma without having first done the level 3 course and my advice is to do the courses in the way they were designed to be. You might also consider also taking the NGC2 which is the 2nd part of the General Certificate to keep your options open rather than restrict yourself to Construction jobs. It is only 5 days more and worth it.

You would expect to pay around £1300-1500 for the NGC and about the same again for the NCC conversion course or £2000 for the full contruction course on its own fully taught. There are cheaper options but the teaching and results can be varied. Colleges are the cheapest option or e-learning/distance learning but you have to do the work yourself and do not get the support that you might need.

The job market has taken a downturn as with all areas of industry but still remains reasonable as H&S is a legal requirement of any organisation with 5 or more employees. Smaller organisations who cannot afford a full time H&S officer often contract this out and this might be where your future lies if you are looking to work for yourself but you will need to find the jobs yourself so might be best to bite the bullet and work for an organisation as an employee while you gain the experience required and contacts to move out on your own.

There is no point in taking the International NEBOSH courses unless you are going to work overseas only. The UK versions of the course are recognised worldwide and cover UK legislation. The International courses do not cover UK H&S law so are not a recognised qualification in the UK. So if you plan to work in the UK at any point then take the UK course.

I hope that has given you some ideas and wish you all the best whichever route you take.

Regards

Oliver Newman

Oliver – thanks for taking the time to respond your help is much appreciated. I am thinking of taking the route you described and taking the NEBOSH Construction Certificate level 3 course (15 days) including a week on the NGC1 core module. I was looking to do it at a College who would provide a workplace in which to take the practical exam.
I am currently unemployed so am trying to get some funding to help with the course fees, but my biggest concern is where to go for a job following the course. I want to concentrate on the construction industry as that is where my experience lies. Speaking to a HSE recruitment company today they say I might struggle without 2-3years working in a similar roles, which is what they would expect of a Health & Safety Advisor.
I would like to work for myself but in the short term to gain experience would look to organisations – any advice what or who I should target and what would be a realistic position & salary for someone starting out but with experience in the construction trade?
By the way I am based in the Midlands so looking for courses and jobs in that general area but willing to travel up/down the M5.