What was your journey into Safety?

It is my assessment that most H&S professionals did not think while selecting their ‘O’ level subjects (of GCSEs as they are now) ‘I want to be a H&S professional’.  I suspect very few chose H&S as their first career option based on my experiences, and that for most it is a second career. 

My H&S journey started in 2001.  After 12 years in the Intelligence Corps I was looking for a new challenge.  Thought about using my first degree – history – and training to become a history teacher.  But a two-week work experience put me off teaching at secondary schools.  I was thinking of handing in my 1-year notice to leave the Army but after a conversation with the Int Corps recruiter decided to look at changing trades within the military.

I decided that I would see if I could change trade to one that received a civilian qualification that was directly related to ‘civvie street’ and found Environmental Health Tech, Pharmacy Tech, and Surveyor were all available and met my criteria.

When I was joining the Army, my initial choice was a Surveyor in the Royal Engineers so I thought that the stars were finally aligning, and my destiny would be fulfilled.  They even agreed that I did not have to serve two years as a Sapper before starting the Surveyor course.  One slight worry was that the course was starting in April, but they were unsure whether the training would be accredited by that stage – I was looking for a trade that would lead to a degree; the stars were not aligned so I set my sights on Pharmacy Technician, which at the time had a pathway over six years to a BSc and the course was starting in June.  But then during a chance conversation I was told the next Environmental Health Technician course started in January and was accredited by Middlesex University.  Well, keen to start my new career I thought let’s just do it.  And I did.  Over two years I completed my HND and logbook and started my new career.

During my training I did not really know what an Environmental Health Technician did apart from food safety.  The multi-discipline approach to keeping the military well suited me and opened my eyes to many other aspects.  I was used to risk and risk assessment, but from an intelligence and security perspective.  And that is possibly why I took a liking and did extremely well in the H&S modules – gaining a distinction in my NEBOSH NGC as part of the programme.

Having identified the earliest I could leave the military with a pension, I then spent my final five years effectively on resettlement.  It was a simple path for me – focus on H&S as that was my best skill.  And a H&S Advisor/Manager seemed to be paid more than an EHO ….

Courtesy of the MOD I completed by NVQ to gain GradIOSH, did my Diploma in Pest Control, became an ISO 14001 lead auditor, and gathered a few other related qualifications.  And I was looking forward to my retirement and start a H&S career as a civilian.

When I was looking at my post-military career it was unfortunately when the crash happened, and our country was I a major recession.  And the first thing that went, almost overnight, were H&S jobs.  SHP Magazine shrunk from one month to the next as they only needed one or two pages for jobs as opposed to the 20 or so just a few months beforehand.

As my time in the Army neared its end, I must admit that I started to become a little worried.  However, a dream of mine was to study full-time at university as a civilian, and worked out that my lump sum and pension would be more than ample to keep me going for 18 months or so, enough time I thought for the recession to stop at least and a recovery start, which in my assessment meant there would be H&S jobs once again available.

So, I applied to Manchester University to complete my MA in History full time, with a plan to do my dissertation on Margaret Thatcher and the Iron Lady’s involvement in the Cold War and its end.  Seemed like a good plan.  But a colleague, a recently retired military EHO who was now a civilian EHO in the MOD, suggested that something work related may be more beneficial.  So, I looked at the H&S MSc at Salford University.  However, my colleague suggested the Environmental Health MSc at Leeds Metropolitan (now Leeds Beckett) as that would qualify me as an EHO.  My military qualification and experience had resulted in ACIEH not MCIEH.  I will forever be grateful for the advice of my colleague; that advice directly led me to an extremely rewarding career outside the military and in a great organisation.

In summary my career has not really been planned, I have taken a very pragmatic view as to what could occur and be prepared to take opportunities by always educating myself and widening my knowledge away from just H&S.  My assessment is that most H&S roles, particularly more senior ones, require us as professionals to be multi-skilled.

And do I consider myself a H&S professional?  Despite the above, no!  I see myself first and foremost as an Environmental Health Officer.