Open-access content
Issue date: May 2021
We are a very different organisation to the one I walked into in 2016, and it has been an absolute privilege to have been at the helm of IOSH for these four and a half years.
Ahead of my retirement this summer, I’ve been looking back over the incredible achievements of IOSH, our members and the wider OSH profession. Read my article or listen to my interview.
I’m always conscious that in countries such as the UK we are privileged to have strong regulation and protection for working people, but this isn’t the case everywhere. That is why I am passionate about improving standards around the globe – I want everyone to have the protection I have at work, and I know you all share that drive and determination.
As chief executive, I have been responsible for delivering our WORK 2022 strategy, our vision of a safe and healthy world of work for all.
Strategies, of course, don’t deliver themselves. IOSH needed to undergo a significant internal transformation into a modern and agile organisation, one capable of delivering this ambitious strategy. We have successfully done this, and staff have played a major role.
People often forget that we only have about 200 members of staff, so we really need the support of our membership. I’m delighted with how you have really bought into our vision.
Our collaborations with like-minded and carefully selected organisations demonstrate the progress we’ve made. When I first became chief executive, we could never have dreamed about working closely with the World Health Organization or International Social Security Association. These relationships, and those with government bodies such as the Lagos State Safety Commission in Nigeria, have allowed us to expand our influence around the world.
Our progress hasn’t been without its challenges, not least the COVID-19 pandemic. But if ever a situation shone a spotlight on OSH, it was COVID. At IOSH, we have sought to support our members from the onset of the pandemic, and I’m delighted to see how the profession has responded.
OSH will continue to play a key role going forward as organisations look to the future, and I’m confident our members will continue to respond.
Bev Messinger | Chief executive
