Training and Qualification for Workplace Safety  

All companies, no matter their size, have placed on them moral and legal duties to ensure that the workplace is free from health hazards and that risks of accidents are controlled to the lowest practical level. Companies must also ensure that any potential environmental negative impacts are assessed and control measures and emergency plans are put in place. These obligations are in place to protect everyone who may be affected by the company’s activities.

Worldwide media reporting of workplace health hazards and major accidents and environmental disasters are being broadcast daily and everyone is becoming more aware and concerned. This awareness has increased in recent years resulting in the public demanding that companies improve their practices to operate safer and more environmentally friendly, in order to safe guard the workplace and environment for future generations.

The costs of incidents, negative publicity and public demand have prompted a more in-depth focus on HSE responsibilities. Since 1991 public liability insurance policies only cover "sudden and accidental incidents" with many only covering third party damages, meaning it is more economically viable for companies to prevent such incidents, rather than foot the clean-up bills. Businesses moral duties of course should outweigh any other concerns.

In the past, one of the major contributing factors to poor health, safety and environmental management was the lack of quality education and an “old School” philosophy, relying up-on “common sense” to prevail, which inevitably lead to unhealthy HSE cultures and more incidents.

To improve the existing thinking and allow quality training to become more available, SHEilds Ltd have created a portfolio of Health, Safety, Environmental and Management training courses and professional qualifications, which have been developed in line with internationally recognised awarding bodies including Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), National Examination board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), Oxford Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts (OCR) and City & Guilds.