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The recently launched IOSH Career Hub is a ‘one stop shop’ for careers guidance, as members have discovered.
‘Inspiring’ and an ‘extra bonus’ for members: these are just some of the ways IOSH members describe the new IOSH Career Hub.
This free online membership benefit offers access to a range of practical tools to help jobseekers hone their CV and interview skills, as well as e-learning resources on hundreds of topics from, report writing and building your personal brand to e-hireability.
Whatever stage of your career, whether you’re studying health and safety, looking for your next job opportunity or wanting to enhance your CPD, the Career Hub has something for everyone.
Here, four IOSH members at different stages of their health and safety careers talk about what the Career Hub offers to help boost your knowledge and hone your skills.
‘Excites your curiosity about the real world’
Rosemary Uba-Nzemeka, IOSH Student Member, Leeds Beckett University
My background in sciences always steered my curiosity about what it would look like to be at the forefront of creating guiding principles that ensure the safety and welfare of a workforce and the community at large.
That’s what prompted me to go for a Master’s in health and safety. I’m about to start my second semester and am currently working on a dissertation focused on lapses in risk assessment in the event of a pandemic in the workplace in the foreseeable future.
The Career Hub is loaded with resources that can improve your employability and enhance your professional development. For example, I particularly like the assessments that prepare you for an interview.
My other favourite aspect of the Career Hub is the e-learning articles and resources, which have helped me to hone my skills and find the loopholes in building myself up to become a health and safety professional. It’s very competitive out there so I’m trying to set myself apart from the rest.
The content in the Hub encourages you to look at different aspects of your career and excites your curiosity about the real world. You can only learn so much from books, so the Career Hub keeps you on your toes. I like to plan ahead and using the Hub has helped me to gain knowledge that will make me more employable.
‘Given me confidence’
David Brewster TechIOSH, Warrington
Love for outdoor sports led me to a leisure management degree, moving on to 20 years of managing high-end licensed venues, events and running a family business.
Looking to progress into health and safety, I’ve taken the necessary qualifications and been recognised as an IOSH Technical Member. Now I’m looking to bring my experience and diverse skills into my first dedicated health and safety role.
For someone like me, it’s easy to get lost or side-tracked online. There’s an overload of advice and information out there, but not all of it is correct or relevant. The Hub’s a great central point, which helps to focus and coordinate your efforts.
It provides a common base and reference library for IOSH members to refresh, update and assess skills, contributing to their CPD. It also reinforces the competency framework.
To date, the Hub’s career assessments and e-learning modules have tested and increased my professional self-awareness. More importantly, they’ve given me an understanding of the need for personal branding and how to approach e-hireability in pursuit of my first position.
The Career Hub has given me the confidence to start building my profile and promoting myself.
‘Encouraging life-long learning’
Dr Julie Riggs CFIOSH, technical director, Phoenix Health and Safety, Cannock, Staffordshire
My career in health and safety launched in 1993 when I completed the IOSH Managing Safely Certificate. Since then I’ve worked in a variety of industries in corporate and global roles. My career has given me lots of platforms as a speaker, writer and presenter, from being interviewed by the BBC to presenting in the House of Commons.
I studied for my Master’s and doctorate while I was working. I believe in being constantly on a journey of learning and self-development. That has to come not necessarily from the classroom but from all kinds of resources that help build skills, including technology.
The Career Hub covers different stages of people’s careers, encouraging life-long learning, looking at bite-sized topics, and not only informing but also inspiring. And it’s a ‘quick win’ with regards to meeting today’s industry requirements for business skills.
One of the most important aspects of the Hub is its toolkits, which enable you to focus on skills gaps and help you to discover your full potential. For example, you can use the career planner section to start mapping out your career path.
We advise students starting out in health and safety to take a moment every day to explore the Hub and learn a bit more about themselves and their industry. It can help them take charge of their careers at an early stage, and it has lots of topics to help build their confidence.
With so many topics to dip into, it’s helpful that there’s signposting to the information you require. For me personally, that’s about reading the self-development sections, and on a business level using e-hireability, motivational skills, and corporate responsibility resources.
The Hub has so many benefits. It’s like an online mentor that shapes you and enables you to be the best version of yourself.
‘Given me a few “light-bulb” moments’
Tom Beswick-Brown CMIOSH, IOSH volunteer, leading CPD/IPD group within Manchester branch, based in Leyland, Lancashire
I’ve been involved in health and safety for over 20 years, both consulting and training, but I’m still learning myself and recently submitted my dissertation for my Master’s in health and safety.
People who haven’t already should have a look at the Career Hub because it’s a convenient one-stop shop for careers guidance. There’s such a vast array of information that’s targeted to so many different audiences, whether you’re a student, retired or at a crossroads in your career.
The Career Hub has given me a few ‘light-bulb’ moments through its short instructional videos. I particularly liked the guidance the Hub gave me while writing my dissertation for my Master’s about how to take out unnecessary words to make my work more concise. And this advice has also proved invaluable when it comes to report writing.
Another ‘light-bulb’ moment came via a video on how to build your brand, which has boosted my business. I never thought I’d advertise, and I’d only ever received work through word of mouth. Following the video’s advice to use roller banners, I now display one when I’m training which has led to more work.
The Hub can also help with work/life balance, which is something I’m a great advocate of, and is a particular challenge for those of us working remotely at the current time. The ‘working from home' section encourages you to think about how much time you spend for yourself, and how you balance work and life while working at home.
If you haven’t yet used the Career Hub, you should see how easy it is to guide yourself through it. And, as well as answering your career questions, you’ll probably discover topics you didn’t even know you were interested in.
Login to the Career Hub via MyIOSH today and discover how it could support your career.