Case Studies

When did you decide you wanted your career to be in health and safety and how did you make it happen?
Theoretically, I decided I wanted a career in health and safety back in 2014, when I undertook an MSc in Oil & Gas Management and opted for the Quality, Health, Safety and Environment route. However, I feel I only truly understood what being a health and safety professional meant, and that it was what I wanted to do for a living, when I worked in my second health and safety role. Here I found a team of competent and passionate colleagues in a workplace which had almost the entire spectrum of possible hazards. Being hungry for learning, I tried to absorb as much information as possible, sometimes even just by overhearing their conversations and re-reading their emails multiple times. Meanwhile, I kept studying and learning in my spare time.

Can you tell us about Midland Heart and your role there?
Midland Heart is the largest housing association in the Midlands, with a portfolio of around 35,000 homes. I am part of a team that not only look after the health, safety and welfare of our colleagues, but also strive to ensure the same for our tenants in their homes. To achieve this, we carry out investigations, risk assessments, inspections and audits, deliver training, offer day-to-day health and safety advice on the most diverse matters, etc. I maintain the company health and safety policies, procedures and guidance, chair our health and safety committees, and advise the wider business of relevant legal changes, ensuring these are reflected in our working practices.

What are the key health and safety issues that need to be considered in this sector?
Over the last few years, the housing sector has been undergoing some of the biggest changes in the last 3 decades. As health and safety professionals, it is crucial to understand and keep abreast of these changes. Besides building-related issues, the other key health and safety issues that need to be considered relate to violence and aggression, verbal abuse, lone working, driving for work, and the typical hazards associated with light construction activities (repair and maintenance). There will then be issues within certain properties that are caused by the lifestyle of some of our tenants, which our staff and contractors need to be protected against.

I understand that you took your NEBOSH General Certificate in 2015.

• Why did you choose this qualification? - When I was nearly at the finish line of my MSc, I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to get a job in line with my studies due to a lack of relevant work experience. I was looking for ways to give me the edge I needed to increase my marketability. Luckily, one of my professors also taught NEBOSH qualifications and recommended I take the NEBOSH General Certificate. I investigated the course and decided it made sense to follow this advice, as I felt it would help make me stand out.

• How did you find it? - I enjoyed the course very much. I liked the way it was structured, and that it included a practical element. Health and safety wise, I learnt much more than I did in my master’s degree.

• How did it help you in your role? - It gave me a strong foundation that it was then easier to build on and strengthen by gaining direct work experience. It was exciting to see a real application of what I had only read about.

More recently you completed your NEBOSH Diploma:

• Why did you choose this qualification? - I knew the NEBOSH Diploma was very prestigious and one of the highest qualifications in health and safety that I could attain, so when one of my previous employers offered to fund it, I immediately accepted.

• How did you find it? -It was a tough, yet fulfilling, journey, which made me realise which topics I had a particular inclination towards. This in turn gave me an insight into which industries I might thrive in. I liked how at the end, when I was writing my Unit D, I was able to take stock of my learning outcomes and see how everything linked together.

• How did it help you in your role? -The Diploma enhanced my knowledge and confidence, it taught me where to seek and how to interpret further information, and it enabled me to explain the rationale behind my advice to a variety of audiences. I also found that my studies refined my ability to continually question and challenge everything, including my own beliefs, to look for healthier, safer and more workable ways of doing things.

What do you enjoy most about being a health and safety professional?
I like to feel helpful, achieve meaningful changes for the better, and liaise with colleagues from all areas of the business, learning about what they do and how they do it.

When you look back at your career so far, what are you most proud of?
It has to be completing the NEBOSH Diploma while working full time, raising a family, and dealing with the ups and downs of life.

What would your advice be to anyone who aspires to make health and safety their career?
Stay ethical. Keep learning. Know your limits. Strive to make things easy for others, not difficult, whilst keeping everyone safe and healthy.