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Advice on gaining NGC.

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stephen1974
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Advice on gaining NGC.

Post by stephen1974 »

Hey all.

Some time ago, 2013, I bought an e-learning course to get my NGC. I failed miserably. Didnt even attempt the exams. I should have been able to walk part 1 in my sleep having done H&S for a long time, been IOSH qualified for 10 years, etc etc and when reading through the course work it's nothing new to me. The problem is, I cant answer the questions. I look at test papers and my mind goes blank.

Normally I have no problems with exams or with learning. I have a degree, I used to be MCP qualified, I have my IOSH. I am a qualified electrician, have plant operator and refrigeration qualifications and so on and so on, but ask me what 'Health' means or ask me to explain Hierachy of Control and I cant do it. So I guess its the whole issue of correct wording thats the problem for some reason. And its not just the odd issue. Its every single question that put in front of me.

I dropped out of H&S work for a couple of years to do operational stuff instead but i've just started with a company that has me looking after everything H&S based and as such I want to get my Nebosh done and keep progressing.

Cant get work to pay for a proper course, cant afford it myself and im reluctant to spend that sort of money when im not confident I could attempt the exams.

I have the e-learning couse (from Wise Global) as well as the NEBOSH exam book by ED ferret, plus old exam papers and some old course work from someone who sat the course.

Any advice on how I can go about learning to answer these questions? The lack of progress is killing my motivation.
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Re: Advice on gaining NGC.

Post by Alexis »

Hi Stephen, :wave:

It sounds to me that perhaps the time just wasn't right for you in 2013 and if you didn't have the correct motivation at the time, perhaps due to other outside factors of life, home, other commitments etc., then of course you wouldn't have faith in your ability to sit the exams. Don't linger on that time in your life! ;)

Your mindset seems right now, otherwise, why would you join our gang and ask a question? :lol: ./thumbsup..

Here are my own personal thoughts.

1 Are you only doing the H&S side in your new employ because it is a job? If so, then motivation cannot be taught and you will lose interest again.
2 Do you have the inclination to keep people safe? If so, then that is your motivation, but you do have to be NEBOSHed to follow through.
3 Are you prepared to discipline yourself in self-learning and pay for and sit the exams? If so, then..................go for it!

We have had members who self-taught, sat the exams and passed their NEBOSH Certifications. It does require a lot of discipline and you would have to find a provider/college etc who would let you sit the exams. There will be a cost for this.

There is lots of information for your self-study in our forums and we have all the free downloads in our main site to help too and of course, our amazing members are always happy to give you advice if you post anything that you are unsure of.
https://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/

Most providers nowadays allow Students to pay for courses in bite-sized pieces. Maybe you could look at this? It may benefit you to have a paid Tutor available when needed?

There is another type of study now that doesn't require sitting exams, which is perhaps more suited to yourself, but you would have to pay for this. Maybe worthwhile contacting them to see if they do partial payments during study. https://www.ncrq.org.uk/

Lots of our members travelled the H&S journey with NCRQ. If you go to our search function at the top of this page and key in NCRQ, you will find past posts about them.

Hope this is of some help to you Stephen. .salut
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Re: Advice on gaining NGC.

Post by stephen1974 »

1 Are you only doing the H&S side in your new employ because it is a job? If so, then motivation cannot be taught and you will lose interest again.

I've been doing health and safety as part of my various jobs now since 2003. I became IOSH qualified in 2007 and retook the exam in 2016. Generally this was part of a wider roll, first as a Duty Manager responsible for... then as a Centre Manager (of leisure facilities) They were quite indepth H&S roles and it's something I came to enjoy. I got made redundant when a facility closed down and I was looking at NEBOSH as a way to get more in to health and safety roles than in to Duty Manager / Centre Manager roles. It is something I want to do, but I detest feeling like i'm wasting my time and thats how I feel trying to do NEBOSH.

I have the motivation to learn health and safety stuff. With what I am doing now, looking after the H&S for 3 sites, I'm enjoying all that goes with it ncluding learning things i didnt know or learning whats changed since I last really looked at things. I want to do the NEBOSH I just dont want to try it and immediately find I still cant retain the information again.

2 Do you have the inclination to keep people safe? If so, then that is your motivation, but you do have to be NEBOSHed to follow through.

I don't do tick box exercises and I don't do Butt covering exercises. I do this to keep people safe. I will, and have, walked away from companies that only want to do the bare minimum to cover themselves and see H&S as only a paperwork exercise. I am considered a major pain in the butt. I'm not risk adverse either. As I said, I dont do this to Butt cover. As I work in the leisure industry, risk is involved in fun. I want to make sure its managed properly.

3 Are you prepared to discipline yourself in self-learning and pay for and sit the exams? If so, then..................go for it!

If I could afford a 2 week course I would do it but I cant. No issue paying for the exams. The problem is not being able to retain the information or recall the information in the way NEBOSH would want. As I said, I look at a question and just go blank. I don't know how to get around that problem.

I'm thinking of doing the NGC1 exam first before booking the second part and the assessment. I think breaking it down will help me concentrate.


Regarding NCRQ - how is the industry accepting things that are not NEBOSH? I'd never seen or heard of it before joining this forum and certainly have never ever seen a job advert asking for it. Would an employer who isnt a specific health and safety company even know about it>
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Re: Advice on gaining NGC.

Post by Alexis »

stephen1974 wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:09 pm 1 Are you only doing the H&S side in your new employ because it is a job? If so, then motivation cannot be taught and you will lose interest again.

I've been doing health and safety as part of my various jobs now since 2003. I became IOSH qualified in 2007 and retook the exam in 2016. Generally this was part of a wider roll, first as a Duty Manager responsible for... then as a Centre Manager (of leisure facilities) They were quite indepth H&S roles and it's something I came to enjoy. I got made redundant when a facility closed down and I was looking at NEBOSH as a way to get more in to health and safety roles than in to Duty Manager / Centre Manager roles. It is something I want to do, but I detest feeling like i'm wasting my time and thats how I feel trying to do NEBOSH.

I have the motivation to learn health and safety stuff. With what I am doing now, looking after the H&S for 3 sites, I'm enjoying all that goes with it ncluding learning things i didnt know or learning whats changed since I last really looked at things. I want to do the NEBOSH I just dont want to try it and immediately find I still cant retain the information again.

2 Do you have the inclination to keep people safe? If so, then that is your motivation, but you do have to be NEBOSHed to follow through.

I don't do tick box exercises and I don't do Butt covering exercises. I do this to keep people safe. I will, and have, walked away from companies that only want to do the bare minimum to cover themselves and see H&S as only a paperwork exercise. I am considered a major pain in the butt. I'm not risk adverse either. As I said, I dont do this to Butt cover. As I work in the leisure industry, risk is involved in fun. I want to make sure its managed properly.

3 Are you prepared to discipline yourself in self-learning and pay for and sit the exams? If so, then..................go for it!

If I could afford a 2 week course I would do it but I cant. No issue paying for the exams. The problem is not being able to retain the information or recall the information in the way NEBOSH would want. As I said, I look at a question and just go blank. I don't know how to get around that problem.

I'm thinking of doing the NGC1 exam first before booking the second part and the assessment. I think breaking it down will help me concentrate.


Regarding NCRQ - how is the industry accepting things that are not NEBOSH? I'd never seen or heard of it before joining this forum and certainly have never ever seen a job advert asking for it. Would an employer who isnt a specific health and safety company even know about it>
Hi again Stephen. I understand a bit more now and didn't mean my questions to be demeaning in any way. Sorry if it came across that way.

The NCRQ is simply a new way of study and although there are no jobs that I have seen asking specifically for NCRQ qualifications, I do think it is a better way of learning how H&S Legislation is applied within any industry and eventually, I can see this being well accepted for H&S positions. It is accepted by IOSH.

As for companies knowing of them, I do know the word has gotten around in the jobsite marketplace and our members who have qualified through NCRQ have been able to gain employment. Also if the CV has been geared to suit a H&S application, I see no reason why it should have any less clout than NEBOSH.

People can still gain TechIOSH, GradIOSH status with this qualification too. Some details in this link. https://www.shponline.co.uk/competency- ... -the-ncrq/

Back to your actual query..............."
The problem is not being able to retain the information or recall the information in the way NEBOSH would want. As I said, I look at a question and just go blank. I don't know how to get around that problem.

I'm thinking of doing the NGC1 exam first before booking the second part and the assessment. I think breaking it down will help me concentrate."
I can certainly offer (offline) some of my own rubbish Q&A's with Tutor responses and some of my good ones, again with Tutor comments, if this would help throw some light on what NEBOSH want in the way of specific NEBOSH replies. If this is of any help, just PM me your preferred e-mail address and I will send them over to you over the weekend.

It is a good idea to do one at a time. You are not the first person in our forums who has gone down this route, with good results too. ;)

Mainly, all NEBOSH want in way of answers (at the Certificate stage) is Legislation/Regulations applicable, control measures and only answer what they ask in the basic question without "fixing" every situation they give you. I looked at it like a jobsworth disciplined way of doing things without using my own initiative. I'm sure NEBOSH would not approve, but it helped me. :lol:

Give me a shout if you want to take me up on my offer.
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stephen1974
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Re: Advice on gaining NGC.

Post by stephen1974 »

Thanks, may take you up on that offer. Your questions were in no way demeaning :)
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