IOSH Membership worth it?

[LaserSafetyGuy]

Hi,

I have recently passed the NEBOSH general certificate and wondered if joining IOSH was worth it or if it's just a tick box exercise for companies to display that their H&S team are IOSH members.

Thanks

[The Noise Chap]

I suspect I am going to be the lone voice here, but after 30 years 'in the trade' I have an unequivocal 'not really apart from ticking a box' response to it, purely as my personal view.

I was CMIOSH from 2005 to sometime in 2018, and was also whatever the equivalent grade was before CMIOSH was invented but my atrophied brain can't for the life of me remember what that was called (could have been just MIOSH, maybe, that rings a bell). It ticked boxes for job applications so if you are wanting to apply for jobs it has a value in that, but I never found it remotely useful beyond that. I never overly rated IOSH's training - I did a lot of their courses over the years but they were all rather middling and 'meh'.

Again, entirely personally, I have come across a lot of CMIOSH people over the years who were very good, but also a lot who couldn't find their way out of a single-door bathroom without SatNav and are pretty terrible at the job and at representing 'safety' as a cause. I have conversely met some absolutely brilliant health and safety types who haven't got CMIOSH, or a Diploma, but could run rings around 90% of those who do as they have 'it', that ability to practically implement safety and connect with people which is so essential in the job.

To me CMIOSH is like people who dress smartly at work versus someone who turns up in jeans and a t-shirt. The smart ones may look the business initially but within an hour you quickly work out who is actually good at the job and how they dress has absolutely nothing to do with it.

So, if you are applying for jobs then it can be a real help to get up up the ladder, but other than that box-ticking, not really.

[WillPool]

As above, I have not rejoined IOSH for many moons, I didnt see the value in it and I am at a point in my career that I am well enough known that I dont need IOSH to 'certify' me for my work.

However as pointed out, there is some kudos to having it for applying for jobs.

Will

[Brett Day SP]

Am like many others, it's a badge that is commonly asked for. So worth it for that, and that's about it.

In the past IOSH has acted abominably towards it's non corporate / non chartered members with it's promotion and implication that only chartered members are competent (something I find incredibly offensive).

In the 26 years I've been in safety, I have found that IOSH seem to have a poor grasp when it comes to the construction industry and at time have seemed disinterested / apathetic about it.

I went to an IOSH CPD event last year in Reading relating to construction at the cost of £60 quid or so for the day, as an event it was frankly embarrassing. The Free HSE event two weeks later was a much better use of my time and an event I would have paid good money to go to.

I find the current CPD system overly beauracratic and not at all user friendly. The only reason I am still a member is that my employer requires it and pays the subscription.

To quote The Noise Chap: "It ticked boxes for job applications so if you are wanting to apply for jobs it has a value in that, but I never found it remotely useful beyond that. I never overly rated IOSH's training - I did a lot of their courses over the years but they were all rather middling and 'meh'." It sums up my experience of IOSH nicely.

[witsd]

Um yeah, chalk me up as a +1 for "not worth it".

To this day, I have no idea what benefits it is supposed to confer, because I got absolutely nothing out of it.

[stephen1974]

I didnt see any value in it so didnt renew after a couple of years and if people ask if im a member, i give them my membership number. If someone checks and it says im not, i'll say "opps, forgot to renew", but so far, its never come up.

[The Instructor]

Heres my tupence worth....
Im currently doing the Proqual level 6 in OH&S (really enjoying it).
So I am a student member, not quite the same standard as CMIOSH....
I do belive, at the moment, and probably for some time (years to come) it is worth it.
As a member of IOSH I am completing my Blueprint CPD, this will be useful in the future I'm sure.

Some clients are keen to know HOW you are keeping up to date, and what makes you more reliable and better person to do the job than Joseph Bloggs down the road.
So, personally, I'd say yes. Even though I have over 24 years of experience as a training instructor and am somewhat involved in H&S, I still need this accreditation, certification, proof, whatever, that I can properly look after a client's health and safety requirements and not just sit behind a desk and charge them a small fortune.

P.S Im not a practitioner yet...... but am branching out into the world of Health and Safety Consultancy, which I've wanted to do for some time..... I absolutely love health and safety .... but to clarify, my opinion on this may change in the future, in fact ill put money on it but for now, yes.

Ive been accredited with ITSSAR and before that RTITB for years ..... and to be quite honest, there's no need for it, some clients do like accredited certification however, which is why I'm still accredited with them....

PPS Yes I know, I know my grammar is appalling.... I'm not even supposed to be on here, I'm supposed to be doing units lol