Leading from the front

Our profession has come a long way. Since we launched our previous strategy, WORK 2022, significant global developments have thrust OSH into the limelight like never before. And it is crucial that we build on this to ensure we are at the front and centre of building sustainable organisations and protecting their most important asset – their people.

It is with this in mind that the IOSH Board of Trustees, Council, staff, members and volunteers have been working together to develop our strategy, which will set out our ambition and delivery for the next five years. We are incredibly excited to be launching this in the coming weeks. We have been keen for it to be a process of evolution, enabling us to build on our collective successes.

As a charity and a Chartered professional body, IOSH exists for the public good. This has led to the development of three public benefit statements, each linked to our charitable objects, which I’m delighted to share here.

• We champion and support the right to a safe and healthy world of work. We shine a light on best practice through strategic partnerships with NGOs, as well as campaigns, educational resources and case studies, which are freely available to guide businesses, governments, regulators and investors applying OSH at an organisational or policy level. As a result, workers’ lives are protected, their families supported and communities strengthened.
• We create inclusive physical and virtual communities, connecting members and partners so knowledge, tools and techniques are shared, and a culture of support and positive peer-to-peer interaction is nurtured. To ensure these communities thrive, we invest in research and outreach to further professional standards and knowledge. This has influence beyond our membership, and so can have positive impacts on workforces across the world.
• We set world-class professional standards for the profession through the IOSH competency framework. We provide and accredit training and education that supports professionals to develop and be recognised and trusted for their expertise through IOSH membership. When employers and the public see an IOSH member, they know they have the best person to enable a safe and healthy world of work.

By showing how we’ll deliver public benefit through these statements, we’ll showcase how IOSH’s work, along with the power of our extraordinary members, can improve everyone’s working lives and help us realise our vision, which remains clear: a safe and healthy world of work. 

Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, chief executive, IOSH