Choosing the right person to take the health and safety officer courses is essential. These individuals need to have the time to take on the responsibilities of the role, which can be huge especially in larger corporations. Sometimes the individual may have other roles in the business so you need to make sure they will also have time to fit in the duties that come with being the officer too.
What Health and Safety Officer Courses Teach
There are a wide variety of health and safety officer courses available:
- IOSH Managing Safely
- NEBOSH General Certificate
- NEBOSH Construction Certificate
- NEBOSH Diploma
- NVQ Health and Safety
On these IOSH courses and NEBOSH courses the individual will learn everything they need to know in order to fulfil the legal duties that are required. This involves having the skills to spot hazards and risks that are faced by each individual as they go about their daily duties while working for your business. Spotting the hazards is just the start.
One of the ways officers can spot hazards they have missed is by performing risk assessments. Risk assessment skills are taught on the courses and they will give the individual all the information they need to complete adequate risk assessments that will satisfy the Health and Safety Executive if you are inspected or if there is an accident in the workplace.
Some of the jobs that are included in a risk assessment is spotting hazards and working out what risks they cause. Identifying who is at risk and working out ways to reduce or eliminate the risks. Once you have done this it is essential to work on any steps that have been established within the assessment such as providing additional training, purchasing new equipment, tools and materials, hiring additional staff or even outsourcing.
Making Records and Communicating Findings and Methods
Risk assessments must be recorded and used to create safe working methods. These need to be written don and shared with the individuals who are affected. Therefore officers really need to have excellent communication skills. Health and safety reaches all departments and every individual working within the company and the officer needs to be able to communicate with them all. It is also essential that they are willing to listen to other people’s concerns within the company and take action as and when required.
Other roles may include conducting audits of the health and safety policies and procedures, introducing and managing fire safety as well as the well-being and health of the employees. As you can see it is a huge task to manage health and safety which is why officers are required.
Types of Courses
The course you select for your chosen officer needs to be one that provides a recognised qualification. There are many excellent examiners out there so there is a lot of choice. Some of the most popular courses are provided by the IOSH, the NEBOSH and the City and Guilds. Each of these organisations are respected and provide a qualification that is certainly an excellent addition to anyone’s CV.
Some health and safety courses are taught online over many months, others can be taken within a few days. The distance learning courses are just as useful as ones that are sat in a classroom so there is no need to overlook them if the option of spreading out the earning time suits you and your company. However, some people learn more when they have a tutor in front of them who is able to help them work through the course materials. In this case it is often better to go with one of the health and safety officer courses that is providing in one of the many learning centres that are found in the United Kingdom.
Health and safety officer courses are suitable for individuals ready to take on a more responsible role within your company. Choose the right course for the individual and protect you and your employees from risks.