IOSH maintains high standards for the OSH profession. These are the key initiatives and processes that allow the institution to do this.
OSH is taught in a variety of ways around the world, through apprenticeships, professional qualifications and higher education programmes. The global education market represents great diversity of thought, different learning needs and regional challenges. To celebrate and recognise these different qualifications, and to extend choice in the marketplace, IOSH offers an accreditation service, which reviews global academic learning standards.
What is accreditation?
Accreditation is the process by which a professional body approves qualifications as meeting standards for the profession. If a qualification is accredited by IOSH, it means it has matched enough of our competency framework to receive our seal of approval. IOSH accredits taught qualification programmes for two membership levels: Technical and Graduate (soon to be ‘Certified’) membership.
Why does accreditation matter to students and graduates?
Crucially, anyone studying for their first IOSH-accredited qualification can access Student membership to support them throughout their studies. This includes access to our Mentoring platform, the Career Hub and the Future Leaders Community, as well as the exclusive Student Member bursary.
Accreditation also offers a clear route through the IOSH membership grades. Students who complete their accredited qualification will meet the academic requirements for either Associate/Technical membership, or Graduate membership, with a clearly defined route to Chartered membership.
By aligning our accreditation eligibility criteria with our competency framework learning outcomes, we have ensured that students will become the well-rounded OSH professionals of the future, mastering soft skills as well as technical ones. IOSH is a globally recognised institution, so students looking to work in different countries can emphasise their membership and the fact that they have an accredited qualification on their CV and LinkedIn profile. You can read our student stories here:
What does accreditation mean to educators?
The marketplace for OSH qualifications is crowded, and it can be hard for prospective learners to choose the right one. IOSH accreditation helps make qualifications relevant to prospective learners and gives additional credibility in the world of work.
IOSH issues an accredited programme logo for use on organisational websites and promotional materials, so prospective learners can tell at first glance whether the qualification has been approved by the largest professional body for OSH professionals. This opens doors within the IOSH networks: students can benefit from meeting other OSH professionals and educators in their local area, as well as being able to invite guest speakers to their universities or colleges.
The dedicated IOSH Education Account team are on hand to deliver presentations with IOSH volunteers to learners worldwide about membership of the organisation and the world of OSH, and also send regular updates.
What does accreditation mean to employers?
Anyone recruiting an OSH professional will need to be able to assess an individual’s education, skills and experience. When there are so many OSH qualifications out there, it’s important to understand qualification equivalencies and how an individual’s qualification compares with one that you have more experience of, or one that you have completed yourself. Because the process to secure IOSH accreditation is tied into our competency framework, you will be recruiting someone who has the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to influence and drive change in your organisation.
IOSH accreditation is a way to evaluate a candidate’s education profile on a CV. You can use our accredited qualifications webpage to look up a qualification, link to the relevant organisation’s or institution’s website, and view the qualification in more detail.
Employers can have peace of mind during the recruitment process that, as well as having the right work experience, a candidate has gained the knowledge from their qualification required for the job.
Benefits for everyone
As OSH has been recognised as a fundamental principle and right, the number of OSH qualifications will continue to expand worldwide.
IOSH accreditation will provide well-rounded, work-ready OSH professionals who are ready to tackle the problems of the future. And these professionals can support businesses by making that future socially sustainable – and ultimately save lives in the workplace.
Find out more here: iosh.com/educators-and-trainers/get-your-qualification-accredited
‘The service was recently refreshed, starting in 2020, and is now even better. We recently had our 30th anniversary’
Charlotte Langley, IOSH education account coordinator
‘While external accreditation is a highly demanding process, it ensures a superior student outcome through the external quality assurance processes and benchmarking’
Jane Whitelaw, academic programme director, ohs, University of Wollongong, Australia
‘Having to choose a course in a different country was tricky. But even when I was in Brazil, I knew about IOSH’s reputation – so, when I saw an IOSH-accredited qualification, it was a stamp of quality and reliability. And it also gave me the opportunity to become a Student Member’
Laís Lara Veloso, health and safety manager, amazon
‘Accreditation not only strengthened the marketability of our programmes but confirmed that they contained professional standards needed by the practitioner in the field’
Barry Parasram, lecturer, Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies, Trinidad and Tobago
DUAL Meaning
While IOSH use the word ‘accreditation’ in relation to programme and qualification standards, other countries and organisations may use the word differently.
