Looking For A Career Change? Why You Should Become A Health And Safety Consultant
Are you looking for a job that will take you places, last for the long run, give you flexibility and pay the bills? Yes? Health and safety training to become a consultant will do all that, and more.
Whether you’re just starting out in employment, looking for a change of career or want to come out of retirement, it’s never too early or late to train in a career that could transform your life.
Don’t let trying something new scare you. You’ve probably got a lot of the skills required already from education or previous roles – communication, teamwork and time management, to name a few.
To learn more about why becoming a health and safety consultant could give you the freedom and independence you’ve been looking for, keep reading.
Consultancy: Freedom & Independence
As a health and safety consultant, your job will be to offer expert health and safety advice to businesses to improve the way they do things.
If you’ve only ever been in education or employment, the thought of setting out on your own as an independent health and safety consultant might be daunting. It needn’t be. Specialist training will give you all the knowledge you need to make a success of things.
Knowing some benefits of consultancy can help too…
Flexible Working – Once you’ve got the set-up stage complete, you can choose when you work to fit in around living a life you want to lead. Creating the perfect work/life balance.
Choose Your People – As your consultancy grows, so will your client base. As a freelancer, you’ll be able to choose who you work with and when.
Increased Value – As a health and safety consultant, the businesses you work with highly value your services. They appreciate what you have to say because you’re the expert in your field.
£££ – When you work freelance, you’ve more control over your rates and your income. Looking at the competition will help you pitch it right, so you don’t come up short.
High Demand – Any large, high-risk or complex business, such as manufacturers, construction companies and warehouses, need expert health and safety advice to minimise risk. You’ll never be short of work.
What Traits Suit A Career As A Health And Safety Consultant?
People skills are a must.
Your chief aim as a health and safety consultant is to keep people safe, so you need to be a people person. If you don’t ‘like’ people, it’s probably not the job for you. You’ll also need to be adaptable, as you’ll be working alongside a variety of individuals, each with their own unique ways of doing things.
Some of the other traits that suit a career as a health and safety consultant are…
- Self-motivation – if you want to establish a successful consultancy, you’re the person who needs to make that dream a reality.
- Vigilance – it’s your job to identify areas of a business that need improving. Being vigilant means you won’t miss things, or let standards slip.
- Focus – as a great health and safety consultant, you need to pay attention to the details to make things as safe as possible.
- Confidence – people might question what you have to say, but believing in yourself will help you stay on track.
- Curiosity – when you go beyond the surface to fully investigate things and solve problems, you’ll create an excellent reputation for thoroughness.
- Level-head – being able to work under pressure will help you stay focused and calm in stressful situations.
The Life Of A Health And Safety Consultant
In terms of what days/hours you work, that’s completely up to you, but when you are working, expect to be busy. When you manage your workload well, being busy is great. It keeps you motivated and increases how productive you can be.
Comprising equal parts paperwork and practical work, the life of a health and safety consultant is a varied one. Consisting of…
- Managing your office – admin, marketing and all the day-to-day stuff of running a business.
- Speaking with clients – both current and potential to understand their needs and ensure you’re meeting them.
- Managing your schedule – booking client meetings, to site visits, and everything in between.
- Visiting clients – to assess the health and safety requirements of a business, you have to travel to see them in person.
- Delivering training – providing training to businesses to equip their staff with essential health and safety knowledge.
- Creating documentation – every health and safety consultant has their own branded policies, procedures and protocols.
What Types of Organisations Might You Work With?
A start-up may call on you to make sure they’ve got their i’s dotted and t’s crossed with their health and safety requirements before they open their doors, or an established business might need your services to put things right when something’s gone wrong.
Often with larger companies, they’ll hire you for a single project to oversee their own in-house health and safety department. Because as an outsider with a fresh pair of eyes, you’re more likely to spot processes that need refreshing or are missing completely.
Smaller businesses without their own health and safety team may hire you long-term to act on their behalf as their specialist consultant. Making sure they have the correct paperwork and procedures in place, investigating issues as they arise or to complete their health and safety compliance documentation.
There may also be opportunities to join a team of like-minded consultants at large events, for example, working together to achieve a desired result.
Qualifications And Certification
There are a few different options with health and safety training and the qualifications you can achieve to kick-start your career as a consultant.
Some of the most sought-after health and safety qualifications include…
- NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety
- NEBOSH General Certificate on Occupational Health and Safety
- Highfield Level 4 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace
- IOSH Managing Safely
To learn more about becoming a health and safety consultant, why it’s such an important career and the training options available, click here…
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Here at Envesca we believe that we are good at giving proactive, sensible and useful advice. Below you will find some free resources that you can download on a host of subjects that will help you and your business.
Training Available
Envesca offer a number of different training courses, which offer advice and guidance on these topics.
Highfield Level 2 Award in Health and Safety
This one-day Level 2 Health and Safety course will provide you with an understanding of how to work safely within your organisation.Highfield Level 3 Award in Health and Safety
This three-day course will provide you with a thorough understanding of health and safety and raise your awareness of employer and employee responsibilities.Highfield Level 4 Award in Health and Safety
This five-day Level 4 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace course will provide you with in-depth knowledge of health and safety.
IOSH Managing Safely
This comprehensive IOSH Managing Safely course will educate you on your health and safety responsibilities.Share this article with your social Community.
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