NEBOSH Overview

What is NEBOSH?

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) is an independent awarding body that has been in existence since 1979 and now attracts over 15,000 candidates each year.

What level of recognition do NEBOSH qualifications hold?

NEBOSH qualifications are recognised and respected by employers in all sectors of the economy and provide the benchmark standard against which others are compared.

NEBOSH was the first health and safety awarding body to have been given accreditation by the government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). A NEBOSH qualification therefore provides evidence of real achievement.

How are qualification standards set and maintained?

Teams of professionally qualified examiners, moderators and assessors, overseen by an Advisory Committee of eminent people from national institutions ensure that NEBOSH qualifications maintain their deserved reputation for excellence.

The Advisory Committee comprises nominees from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Employment National Training Organisation (ENTO), the Environment Agency, the National Federation of Health and Safety Groups, the British Institute of Occupational Hygienists (BIOH), the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health

The NEBOSH National General Certificate is a qualification designed to help those with health and safety responsibilities (eg. managers, supervisors and employee representatives) to discharge more effectively their organisational duties and functions. The NEBOSH National General Certificate is not a qualification purely for health and safety specialists.

The duration of study for the National General Certificate is a minimum of 87 hours plus private study and background reading. The syllabus is divided into sixteen units:

1. Health and safety foundations

2. Policy

3. Organising for health and safety

4. Promoting a positive health and safety culture

5. Risk assessment

6. Principles of control

7. Movement of people and vehicles - hazards and control

8. Manual and mechanical handling hazards and control

9. Work equipment hazards and control

10. Electrical hazards and control

11. Fire hazards and control

12. Chemical and biological health hazards and control

13. Physical and psychological health hazards and control

14. Construction activities - hazards and control

15. Incident investigation, recording and reporting

16. Monitoring, review and audit 

Assessment is by an end examination comprising two written papers and a practical assessment which consists of carrying out a health and safety inspection of a workplace and preparing a management report.

Business Safety Systems and NEBOSH

Business Safety Systems have been successfully running the NEBOSH National General Certificate for almost 10 years.

During this period we have maintained an excellent relationship with NEBOSH and we are extremely proud of the outstanding level of success achieved by our candidates.

For example, our pass rate was 80% for the courses that we ran in 2005 and 85% for the 2006 courses to-date. This compares to the equivalent national average figures of 70% and 66% respectively, as published within the NEBOSH Examiners' Reports.