Occupational Health and Safety is a pressing issue in today’s business world due to the increasing importance of resource efficiency and business sustainability. Unlike, traditional business models, industries now put more emphasis on safety measures to avoid workplace accidents and resource depletion which can negatively affect the productivity. Concerns over workplace safety started in late 1700’s after the advent of industrial revolution in UK, giving birth to Labor Movement which urged the state authorities to pass regulations and ensure safe work practices. Before the labor movement, working conditions were unsafe posing many hazards resulting in either long-term illness or in many cases death.

From construction to mining and manufacturing to transportation, every industry has its own specific hazards and safety regulations which evolved over the course of 200 years, making the health and safety systems more efficient & effective. Organizations now require professionals accredited with health and safety trainings, who can help them ensure appropriate compliance with their industry regulations to not just avoid penalties, but also to streamline their productivity by designing & implementing strict health and safety frameworks.

There are basic health & safety trainings and also the specialized ones which are issued by international regulatory authorities like International Standards Organization, ILO, IOSH and OfQual each of them addressing specific industrial requirements & concerns. Individuals who are trained & certified for the relevant industry regulations are far more preferable than other industry professionals and have higher probability of further growth in their career. These certifications enable industry professionals stay up-to-dated of modern procedures & techniques to audit & identify industry related safety hazards and take appropriate actions to maintain a safe work environment securing a sustainable business growth & productivity.

In this article, we will discuss about top 5 most demanding health and safety courses with their learning outcomes, to help understand their importance for career and business growth.

NVQ Qualification in Health and Safety:

NVQ or National Vocational Qualification is a program promulgated by OfQual UK to help individuals gain specialized skills and knowledge to perform a job with accurate practices. The NVQs are work based qualifications and has various levels, each of them addressing various specialized topics advancing the skill level of the individuals. From Level 1 to Level 7, each NVQ Qualification can be ranked against other certifications offering a range of educational and career opportunities. NVQ qualifications in health and safety require learners to submit their day-to-day activities in an online portfolio which will be checked by an authorized assessor to evaluate the learner’s competency for quality & compliance assurance to award the diploma. The Online Portfolio can include observation report by assessor, assignments, projects, reports, professional discussions, witness testimony, worksheets, record of oral & written questioning and recognition of prior learning. Two of the most demanded NVQ qualifications in health and safety are:

NVQ Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice

is a widely accepted international qualification which allows senior level health & safety professionals enhance their health & safety management skills, so they can establish proactive monitoring systems to identify assess and control health & safety risks. It’s a degree level qualification equivalent to a UK Undergraduate Degree and has total course duration of 2 years with an average completion time of 5 to 7 months. It has 10 mandatory units (modules) which must be completed in order to attain the NVQ Level 6 Diploma. Its modules cover topics including Health & Safety Culture, Health & Safety Policy Implementation, and Communication System for Health & Safety Information, Health & Safety Risk Assessment System, Health & Safety Emergency Response System and Health & Safety Practice. Emphasizing practical skills and knowledge pertaining to the real-world situations, NVQ Level 6 Diploma has following learning outcomes:

1. Understand the importance of promoting a positive health and safety culture within the organization.
2. Develop and Implement the Health and Safety Policy.
3. Define the statutory and workplace health and safety requirements for the organization.
4. Produce and control effective communication systems for health and safety information in the organization.
5. Develop and implement a health & safety loss event reporting, investigation and recording system.
6. Devise inspection and monitoring systems for health and safety proactive performance monitoring.
7. Conduct statistical & epidemiological analyses and maintain communication with stakeholders of health & safety reactive performance monitoring outcomes.
8. Investigate the efficiency and cost effectiveness of health and safety management systems.
9. Develop and implement health & safety emergency response system & procedures.
10. Implement risk control measures and safe systems of work in the organization.

NVQ Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Health and Safety Leadership & Management

is also another degree level NVQ Qualification which is equivalent to UK Master’s Degree program with a total duration of 2 years, but can be completed in 10 to 12 months. This course is intended for health and safety professionals who are responsible for designing and leading the health & safety strategy of an organization. It has 5 mandatory modules covering topics such as; strategic planning, incident investigation, Business risk management process and Risk based safety systems management. This NVQ Level 7 Diploma allows health & safety professionals devise long-term strategies to curb health & safety compliance issues keeping in view organizational risks and goals. It also enhances leadership qualities in the learners enabling them influence others to maintain safety culture at the workplace and lead the organization respond efficiently in case of changes in safety regulations. This qualification is pivotal in advancing your career to higher positions in health & safety segment, most likely roles in top management as Department Head or as Senior Manager or could be as Health & Safety Director and/or role as a Health and Safety Consultant. After completing the course, the learners will embrace following learning outcomes:

1. Evaluate strategic risks to an organization through the implementation of a quantifiable risk assessment system
2. Articulate risk communication strategies in various situations
3. Measure safety performance and calculate safety return on any investment
4. Understand the effects of digital technologies on strategic and operational occupational health and safety management
5. Manage personal leadership/management development to support achievement of strategic organization and personal ambitions
6. Implement a biohazards risk assessment and control measures in the workplace
7. Understand the effects of psychological health and injury management in the workplace
8. Understand business risk management models and techniques
9. Evaluate the effectiveness of business risk management process
10. Articulate risk communication strategies in various situations

Qualifi UK Certifications in Health and Safety:

Qualifi UK is a vocational education body offering courses & trainings regulated by OfQual, for various industry segments including health & safety, business management and education & training. These qualifications help learners and professionals acquire relevant skills & knowledge to enhance their professional caliber. It offers a range of internationally recognized health and safety trainings including International Diploma in Health & Safety Engineering and International Diploma in Health & Safety Management, both of which imparts learners with advance level skills in health & safety. Following are the brief details of these two International Diplomas which will help you understand the scope and objective of these qualifications.

International Diploma in Health & Safety Engineering

is a specialized course designed by the European Safety Council and endorsed by Qualifi UK for professionals interested in health & safety management roles. It imparts advance knowledge & skills required to develop and implement specialized safety plans for various industries. Learners with either a bachelor’s degree in engineering/science or a level 3 certification of any HSE qualification recognized by IOSH can enroll in this 6 months diploma course. Qualifi IDHSE is a great opportunity for those aspirants who are planning to advance their health & safety career to CSP (Certified Safety Professional) entitlement. Upon completion of Qualifi IDHSE, learners can apply for Transitional Safety Practitioner designation which is a recognized position by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP, USA) allowing them to take CSP Exams without the ASP Credentials. IDHSE consists of 2 modules covering various topics including health & safety management principles, procedures, policies, systems and details of industrial hazards, risks & their control measures. Learner’s competency is assessed through a written exam for each of the Unit/Module consisting of 3 sections for each of the question paper. To be able to get the European Safety Council certification, the learner must get at-least 50% marks for each of the modules. After completing the Qualifi  IDip in Health and Safety Engineering, besides the following learning outcomes, learners can also benefit by getting highly-paid jobs like EHS Manager, Industrial Hygienist, Occupational Health Specialist, Safety Compliance Officer, Health & Safety Manager, Risk Manager & etc.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop understanding of health & safety management principles
2. Develop and implement effective risk management strategies to audit & assess efficiency of safety plans
3. Gain knowledge of industry relevant safety standards and ensure 100% compliance to avoid penalties
4. Conduct safety audits and influence safety culture
5. Understand and manage various industrial safety hazards across all domains

Level 7 International Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety Management

is an advance level vocational course designed for health & safety professionals who are responsible for developing and applying health & safety procedures on day-to-day basis. They can be managers or higher-level HSE Professionals who are looking to improve their skills and knowledge to get a higher career progression. This is a 7 months diploma course consisting of 4 Modules which provides knowledge & understanding of risk based safety management systems, role of globalization & sustainability in safety culture performance, impact of digitalization in incident investigation and role of a strategic safety manager. All 4 modules are mandatory and learners are required to complete all of them with appropriate passing marks to get the Full Certificate Award from Qualifi UK. The course assessment is evidence based work assignments which require learners to demonstrate their skills & knowledge pertaining to real-life work scenarios. To be eligible to apply for the Qualifi Level 7 Idip in OHSM, the candidate must already have a Level 6 qualification in the related sector or a bachelor’s / master’s degree in engineering or a 3 years managerial experience which demonstrates current/relevant industry knowledge. After being certified with the Qualifi Level 7 international diploma in Occupational Health & Safety Management, the candidate can avail the benefits of international job opportunities, career progression to UK Master’s Degree Program, Pathway to CMIOSH or CRSP and CertISOH Membership from IOSH. Besides all these benefits of Level 7 Idip in OHSM, the learners will also get to embrace following learning outcomes:

1. Apply and make critiques of different implementation standards of occupational health and safety management.
2. Evaluate the role of strategic leadership in risk management
3. Review the impact of globalization in an organization’s safety culture
4. Understand and apply the principles of sustainability in safety sector
5. Analyze problem-solving techniques that are specific to risk assessment
6. Manage strategic risks in organization health and safety domain
7. Analyze the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in occupational health and safety risk management
8. Evaluate risk control measures from a wide range of hazards

ISO Lead Auditor Course in Health and Safety:

ISO or International Standards Organization is a regulatory authority which develops and issues various industry related standards & policies including health & safety, food safety, business continuity, lab safety, information security and many other standards related to various industries. These standards are laws governing the organizations that they follow the accurate procedures & good practices at workplaces helping them streamline their work culture and enhance their productivity. ISO Certifications help organizations develop trust and good repute among stakeholders and customers by ensuring compliance with industry regulations & standards. ISO Lead auditor Courses are training programs issued by International Standards Organization to enable interested individuals grasp the important skills and knowledge to audit & assess an organization’s systems & procedures for regulatory compliance against an ISO Standard. Each lead auditor course has a specialized structure defining the role, responsibilities and appropriate techniques of a lead auditor pertaining to the specified industry standard. The lead auditor course is a 5/9 days program and candidates will be given the certificate only after passing a written exam. Many organizations around the world prefer ISO 45001:2018 certified lead auditors to audit, identify & assess their health & safety management systems for compliance and business sustainability.

ISO 45001 Lead Auditor Course

helps HSE Professionals, Safety Auditors and Higher Management to audit, implement, maintain and continually improve an occupational health & safety management system as per international standards. The learners are trained in accordance with the ISO 45001:2018 standard which is established by ISO in line with the ILO (International Labor Organization) Policies to ensure safe working conditions and effectiveness of an organization’s health & safety management systems. The course has 10 modules, each of which covers different segments of auditing including ISO 45001 requirements, auditing principles, methods & procedures of auditing, reporting & analysis, drafting case studies for real-time scenarios and techniques to identify & implement improvements. By completing the ISO 45001 Lead Auditor Course, the learners will have an improved understanding of occupational health & safety principles and risk management, enhancing their ability to create a safe & healthy work environment and develop their competency in implementing & maintaining an effective OHS management system. Besides the benefits, this ISO Lead Auditor Course has following learning outcomes for participants:

1. Understand the principles and requirements of ISO 45001:2018
2. Implement and maintain an OHS management system in accordance with the standard
3. Identify and assess occupational health and safety risks
4. Conduct internal audits to ensure compliance and identify improvement opportunities
5. Grasp the significance of employee involvement and consultation in OHS processes

The health and safety trainings & courses can be attained from institutes & training centers registered with their relevant qualification body. These qualifications help individuals stay updated of modern industry standards as well as gain an unmatched career progression. Individuals can opt for any of these safety trainings based on their specific career objectives and course learning outcomes which will help them develop a greater understanding of health & safety standards relevant to their industry.