Career Profile: Nick Bell

Profession: Construction Safety Manager, Facilities Department, University of the West of England

Qualifications: BSc DipSW PGDipASS DipNEBOSH MIET MCIEH CPMSIA EurOSHM MIIRSM RMaPS CMIOSH

What career did you have in mind when you left school?

Nick Bell: I really enjoyed mentoring other students when I was participating in the Duke of Edinburgh awards in school so I was already leaning towards a career in youth work or the caring professions. Following a degree in Psychology I worked in a number of youth work and social work roles which allowed me to progress onto a Post Graduate Diploma at the University of Sheffield in Social Work, specialising in Probation. Shortly after graduating I started work as a Probation Officer, assessing and supervising offenders in Gwent, South Wales.

What made you change careers paths to health & safety?

NB: After several years working as a Probation Officer, I felt I was a respected and effective officer, but that I needed a change of direction. When an opportunity came up for a sideways move into the Estates Department to undertake a health and safety role, that gave me the experience I needed to take my health and safety career down the facilities management and construction path.

How did you view the move into health & safety?

NB: I went into the role with an open mind and discovered that I had many transferrable skills that I could bring to the job. However, in all honesty, I quickly found myself out of my depth; fortunately I had a supportive boss who gave me the opportunity to undertake training and thankfully, I had trainers like Brenig Moore who really helped me make sense of the role. Without that support, I may well have been dissuaded to pursue this career.

How satisfying is your role as Construction Safety Manager?

NB: I thoroughly enjoy what I do. A key part of the challenge is translating guidance and regulations into something understandable and meaningful that makes a real and positive difference to people. Watching people like Brenig, I also learned that how we communicate is often just as important as what we are communicating. There are so many different avenues to explore, and the profession is constantly evolving, making it a really stimulating career path. The health and safety profession is a caring profession; we work hard to keep people safe and healthy.

You are a member of the Safety Institute of Australia, what’s the story behind that?

NB: I’m currently doing my MSc in Occupational Safety and Health at UWIC. My dissertation is “Can the rules of football improve health and safety on construction sites?”, and I'm finding a large amount of valuable research is coming out of Australia. I see membership of the SIA as a way of keeping up to date with their latest initiatives and I'm really proud that I've just been awarded Chartered Professional Member status. My dissertation looks at how best to bring about positive changes in behaviour by examining the theories and practice underpinning different approaches to site control: Rules and enforcement versus coaching and participation. I have often had to balance these approaches in my career and the dissertation synthesizes my past work and studies in psychology, social interventions and health and safety.

Which qualification would you advise someone to do if they are looking to start a career in health & safety?

NB: I took the NEBOSH Certificate soon after I became a Health and Safety Advisor and I would certainly recommend it. But it wasn’t just the taking of the qualification; it was the delivery of the qualification. Brenig Moore was one of my course tutors and he brought the theory of health and safety alive with his practical applications. I found the course really enjoyable and went onto the Diploma immediately, with Brenig as a tutor again. I received a distinction in both the Certificate and the Diploma, and even got top marks in the UK for one element of the Diploma, and I know it’s because the syllabus was clearly taught. I must say I worked hard too! However I really think that people generally can benefit from studying the NEBOSH Certificate, whether or not they want to make a career in health and safety; it can enrich their own job. One of the joys of the NEBOSH certificate is there are so many directions in which you can take it; as I was already working in construction I completed the NEBOSH Construction Certificate, others go in a variety of different directions.

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