IOSH Leading Safely for Health & Safety Professionals

This unique IOSH Leading Safely course is designed to provide practical knowledge and solutions for sustainable business advantage through good safety and health practice for women business owners, directors, senior executives, and anyone with leadership responsibility in any sector, around the globe.

Applications are currently closed as spaces have now been filled for 2022. Click below to sign up to our mailing list for updates on when applications are open for 2023.

What is the IOSH Leading Safely for Health and Safety Professional course?

In 2021 RoSPA launched its inaugural Leading Safely for women initiative, working with L’Oréal and supported by Louise Hosking (of Hosking Associates and current IOSH President and Chair of IOSH Council), with the aim of creating the right conditions for women in health and safety from around the world to develop their skills and become more visible in the sector.

As part of this ground-breaking initiative, Hosking Associates developed a unique IOSH Leading Safely course aimed at women health and safety professionals working in leadership roles. This unique Leading Safely course covers precisely what women in health and safety from around the globe need to know to improve productivity, increase profits, enhance corporate reputation and become more visible and connected, not only to each other but to a truly international network of likeminded people.

Who should apply for this Leading Safely course?

Designed to provide practical knowledge and solutions for sustainable business advantage through good safety and health practice, this course is for women who are business owners, directors, senior executives, or have leadership responsibility in any sector, anywhere around the world.

Also, L’Oréal has sponsored these training sessions as part of our Safe@Work-Safe@Home Partnership, meaning we can offer a limited number of fully funded places to help those who identify as women and work in health & safety to reach more senior roles.

What does the IOSH Leading Safely course for women in health and safety course cover?

The course covers the same core aspects as the regular IOSH Leading Safely course:

Recognising the value of strategic safety and health and its integration into business management systems and performance management systems
Understanding your safety and health responsibilities
Appreciating the consequences of poor safety and health
Planning the overall direction for safety and health in your organisation
Understanding the importance of adequately resourcing your safety and health management system
Knowing why you should monitor and review your safety and health performance

Plus additional material specific to women health and safety professionals including:

How your leadership style and language affect your ability to achieve transformation
ISSA’s Vision Zero campaign and how this can be used across continents
Company law, governance and how this relates to health and safety
Understanding the capitals model for sustainability in business
Demonstrating how investments in health and safety and human capital can add value and become a brand differentiator for overall business success
Creating a health and safety strategy for your business

What are the benefits for me and my organisation of attending the course?

Key delegate benefits

Sharpens your skill-set and makes you a more effective leader
Creates understanding of good practice from around the world
Enables bench-marking of your performance against others
Shapes your safety and health vision
Identifying steps to achieve your safety and health ambitions

Key business benefits

Reduce accident rates, absence and sick leave
Increased productivity and profits
Improved reputation among suppliers, clients and partners
Reduced insurance premiums and legal costs
Better business continuity

How is the IOSH Leading Safely for Health and Safety Professionals course delivered?

Leading Safely is delivered via Zoom in one day (09:30 to 16:30 UK time) making it available to anyone, anywhere, and easy to fit in with busy schedules. The sessions include group interaction and there are plenty of opportunities to discuss topics and ask questions.

Meet your mentors

Leading Safely is hosted by Louise Hosking, owner of Hosking Associates and current IOSH President and Chair of IOSH Council. Louise has 30 years’ experience within a wide variety of blue chip, SME and public sector organisations and is a specialist in developing safe, healthy and sustainable management systems and positive OSH organisational transformation to manage compliance, create fair workplaces and mitigate risk.

Louise Hosking

Karen McDonnell

Following the initial training session, Dr Karen McDonnell, RoSPA’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy Adviser, will work together with Louise Hosking and Malcolm Staves, L’Oréal’s Global Vice President of Health and Safety, to identify a suitable mentor for each delegate to help them continue their development. As Karen states, “with women making up less than 30 per cent of health and safety professionals in occupational safety and health, our programme seeks to create balance across business; encouraging women to believe they are ‘good enough’ and can progress to and influence at leadership level. Making the connection through mentoring is a powerful support mechanism for personal development."

Hear from our delegates

Belinda Nyambare

Safety Officer Siginon Aviation Ltd

Kenya

“The course session was the best I’ve ever attended: to be in a room of great-minded ladies, with tons of experience and a safe space where we shared our feelings, experiences and aspiration without fear. I would attend and recommend this course a thousand times”

Brenda Madley

Director of HSE Forbes Bros

Canada

“Mentorship is an effective way to take your career to the next level and improve your leadership, while allowing for a mentor with an experienced perspective to shift your thinking”

Jwan Kamla

Senior Safety Risk and Operations Consultant/Technical Lead, Atkins

UK

“I have gained extra knowledge on how occupational health and safety has an impact on business productivity and profits. The session widened my vision towards health and safety in practice and it was a good chance to get to know powerful skilled women in the area of safety from around the world."

Would your organisation like to be involved in the Leading Safely initiative?

Our hope is that other corporates will choose to get involved in the Leading Safely initiative. We have created a process and a package which makes this simple to do, so please get in touch with Andrea Sims [email protected] if you’d like to discuss this opportunity further.