Courses Available Online, Virtually and Classroom
Fully Certified NEBOSH, IOSH, IEMA Accredited
7-Day Customer Service
Brenig Moore DipNEBOSH, CMIOSH, CEnvH

An Interview with...Lee Boden CMIOSH

October 2016

In our newest blog series "An Interview with..", we are going to be chatting to our very own consultants to gain insight into career development, training, qualifications and key health and safety issues. Our first is with Chartered Consultant Lee Boden.

Having switched to Health & Safety later on in his career, Lee has completed a suite of NEBOSH qualifications and is now a highly successful Health & Safety Practitioner and Consultant, receiving consistently high pass rates and excellent feedback from delegates from all walks of life.

Lee tells us about his career path into Health & Safety and why it's never too late to achieve your goals...


How did you Get into Health & Safety as a Career?

I started out as a lithographic printer and endured that role for 18 years. By chance, and a favour from a family friend, I was offered an opportunity as a foreman in a construction company looking after 60 skilled tradesmen, albeit I knew nothing of construction at the time. I took the responsibility for health and safety and assumed the role of the HSE manager.

This armoury of qualifications, as well as the construction experience I had attained resulted in my appointment as a trainer/consultant within a Health & Safety training organisation. I didn’t start studying until I was 35 and didn’t stop until I was 45 - I tell all my students that it is never too late in life to study and that you will achieve your goals if you put the graft in.

What do you Enjoy the Most about Working in Health & Safety?

I laugh every day when I teach. While safety is a serious matter, I am not a dictator and my delegates need to feel relaxed; and what better way to relax than to laugh? I genuinely like people and no matter where I teach, I always have a good range of characters in my class. I have made some good friends along the way and they often return to study further courses with me.

I also believe that learning is a two-way stream and I love learning from people, hearing about their different backgrounds and what brought them into health and safety - it's always for such diverse reasons.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have delegates including an employee of the British Embassy in Egypt and an ex-soldier who protects boats in pirate-infested waters in the same room - what’s not to love about that?

You’ve been in the industry a long time, have you noticed any changes since you began your career?

Absolutely! When I first started teaching there was always at least one anti-safety delegate in the room. I loved this because I set myself a challenge to educate this person and change their perception of safety before the end of the course - most of the time without them knowing I had done it. Fortunately I have seen this type of delegate disappear, as we now all accept that safety is in the workplace for the right reasons and not just to hinder us.

I have also been pleased to see the construction industry come on leaps and bounds over the last 10 years - from an industry that always lagged behind others. Everyone should be safe in work no matter what they do to earn a penny.

What have been the Biggest Challenges you’ve Faced Throughout your Career?

During my years in construction, I faced negativity regarding safety many times from management and employees. I believe safety is about education and not reprimand or conditioning. You only know what you know - sometimes someone needs to tell you.

I'm fortunate to have come from an industry background and can now offer advice in a practical way, rather than reciting what a text-book says. I think the word safety will always raise an eyebrow with employees, but this has developed over years of draconian policing, rather than education. If safety is tackled by pragmatic advisors with good people skills, then we would hope to eventually see every person come home from work in one piece.

What about your Career Highlights?

I have several special career highlights that seemed impossible when I left school with just an O-Level in Art. Completing my Level 6 NEBOSH Diploma was a massive accomplishment to me, due to the amount of commitment and I am still bewildered how I got through it to this day. I was also extremely proud of myself when I was appointed the National Training Manager of an employment law company managing 30 H&S professionals.

Finally, I swore to myself that I was finished with studying after the 2-year diploma...however, that didn't last long as on my graduation day, I signed up with Loughborough University to complete a 2-year Level 7 Master’s Degree in Occupational Health and Safety! Walking on stage to receive my scroll in a cap and gown was difficult to compare to the young lad that failed GCSE maths 3 times. My MSc is my proudest achievement to date, in addition to becoming Chartered in my profession. I would like to think that I am finished with studying now...but never say never.

Interested in starting a career in health and safety? Have a look at our range of courses by clicking the button below.

Related Blogs

  • How Businesses Can Reduce Their Plastic Pollution | UNEP World Environment Day Image
    Kathryn Jenkins PIEMA, MSc, BSc (Hons), LLB (Hons)

    How Businesses Can Reduce Their Plastic Pollution | UNEP World Environment Day

    Find out how businesses can reduce plastic pollution and the key policies and legislation that governs them.
    02.06.25
  • The Truth About AI & The Environment: Pros and Cons Image
    Enock Ebbah

    The Truth About AI & The Environment: Pros and Cons

    Discover the positive and negative effects of AI on the environment, and understand the future implications of it's increased use in our day-to-day lives.
    30.05.25
  • Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics for Health and Safety Image
    Tom Lea BScHons, GradIOSH, AIEMA

    Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics for Health and Safety

    Discover the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics for health and safety in the workplace, that every department needs to measure progress.
    29.05.25
  • IEMA Sustainability Skills for the Workforce Review: Is It Worth It? Image
    William Gaunt MA, BA (Hons)

    IEMA Sustainability Skills for the Workforce Review: Is It Worth It?

    Read a review of the IEMA Sustainability Skills for the Workforce course from, Astutis employee, Will Gaunt and find out how it’s impacted his role and approach to sustainability.
    28.05.25
  • Do Consumers Prefer Sustainable Businesses and Products? Image
    Enock Ebbah

    Do Consumers Prefer Sustainable Businesses and Products?

    Discover why more consumers are picking environmentally aware businesses that have strategies for improving sustainability and reducing their environmental impact.
    23.05.25
  • How to Develop a Positive Safety Culture in the Workplace | Health and Safety Leadership Image
    Brenig Moore DipNEBOSH, CMIOSH, CEnvH

    How to Develop a Positive Safety Culture in the Workplace | Health and Safety Leadership

    Find out how to embed a safety culture in workplaces of any size, with our step-by-step guide for implementation and measuring subsequent results.
    21.05.25
Section Curve
Case Studies

Real Life Stories

Find out how learners look back on their training with Astutis. Our case studies give our learners, both individual and corporate, a platform to share their Astutis experience. Discover how training with Astutis has helped past learners and delegates make the world a safer place, one course at a time.
More Image
Bottom Curve
What People Say

Hear What Our Learners Have To Say

We're always there for our customers. 98% of our learners rated their overall experience as good or outstanding. We will always pride ourselves on our customer service. But don’t take our word for it, here is what our customers have to say
  • "Great service, with everything very clear. Quick answer to any doubs."

    11.06.2025
  • "I loved this course. Having previous experience in LCA I already knew some of the concepts. Still, this course allowed me to broaden my horizons on how companies report their carbon footprint, the places where you can find the best emission factors, and how to address some of the most common problems when accounting for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Both instructors were very clear in their explanations and always ready to clear any doubts."

    11.06.2025
  • "Course materials arrived well in advance. Rhys was great answering all my queries and chasing up on my behalf and always very courteous. All in all the staff I dealt with at Astutis were very professional."

    Miranda Palmer
    11.06.2025
  • "I've been in EH&S for over 20yrs and dealt with many different topics throughout my career, but it was great to revisit some of those areas and to hear others experiences though virtual learning."

    Miranda Palmer
    11.06.2025
  • "It was a hreat experience throughout"

    02.06.2025
  • "It was a great learning experience and add value"

    02.06.2025
  • "Astutis always give great customer service, and from the 3 course I've completed with yourself I've always had great knowledgeable tutors. I recommend Astutis to all my colleagues."

    21.05.2025
  • "Great course, lots of areas some may find not the most interesting, however, the tutor made sure it was delivered in a fun way!"

    21.05.2025
  • "The course its self was very well presented and included valuable information. the tutor was very knowledgeable and was able to provide us with real life examples to help understand further. My only downside was the lack or exam practice within the course, the tutor allowed for students to practice exam questions and submit to him for feedback and opened the class half an hour earlier for people to attend to discuss the results. However, this topic was not covered as part of the cause so if you could not attend earlier or have time to submit after you have no feedback on completing the exam questions and no prep for how you should be responding."

    Samantha
    12.05.2025
  • "The course content was very valuable."

    Samantha
    12.05.2025