A Year In-Review: 2022 and Its Effects on Astutis and the Health, Safety and Environmental Industry

The past twelve months have, unfortunately, not been the quiet time we all wanted. For most, the past year would have been an ideal time to heal and mentally process the astronomical events of the past two years. But reality has its way of keeping us on our toes. As we tried to put COVID-19 in the history books, the war in Ukraine and the new outbreak of MonkeyPox demanded our attention. The United Kingdom gained only its third female Prime Minister in its history and lost Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the space of two days. In the background, a cost-of-living crisis began to brew, and the price of petrol skyrocketed. Families continue to worry about the cost of heating their homes in the winter months, right when they need it most. 

The positive we all have is that Christmas is just around the corner. A time for people to come together and not just for festivities. This is a time to set aside our worries and concerns and come together in the spirit of family. 

In that vein, this blog will look back at the past twelve months, focusing on how the past year has affected the HSE training industry. It will analyse the climate emergency and what Astutis have achieved in the past year to move the training industry forward.

Effective Learning 

Let’s begin with the idea of pushing the industry forward. Our mission since our inception over ten years ago was, and still is, to make the world a safer and healthier place for all. This mission drives the perpetual research we conduct to understand the most dynamic methodologies behind compelling training. Our most recent study concluded that effective learning is incumbent on a proactive partnership between the learner and the tutor. Astutis Technical Director, Brenig Moore, believes learner participation is necessary for a collaborative learning experience. In his report, Brenig found that collaboration is a necessity, most especially for virtual learning due to its technological foundation (or being behind a screen). Collaborative learning establishes proactive education, maximising learner retention and interest. Brenig concluded that learners are responsible for eliminating distractions before the training sessions begin. I, for one, agree with Brenig. Learners have not only a responsibility to themselves but to their fellow learners. It encapsulates the respectful relationship between learner and tutor. It is a fascinating read, and I want to thank Brenig for his effort in completing that report and for emphasising the significant research that praises the benefits of virtual training. 

The Age of the Individual 

We know first-hand the effort and the financial investment companies put into health, safety and environmental training. Over the last twelve months, we have found that more impetus is now being put into protecting employee well-being than ever before. Directors are showing proactive care for their workforce, but there will always be outliers. We continue to see the level of attention organisations are attributing to well-being, demonstrating more concern for their employees than at any other time in history; this is the age of the individual. More rights are being fought for employees daily, and we can confirm (for the overwhelming majority) that companies are receptive to these trends. Long may this continue. 

COP 27 Recap

I have discussed the topic of Earth's climate emergency at length in the past year, and for good reason; the need for change is beyond drastic. In our upcoming Astutis Health, Safety and Environmental Training Report 2022-2023, we investigate the status of the underlying effort to counter carbon emissions and governmental policy aimed at achieving carbon neutrality. We cannot wait to share this with you early in the new year. 

This year saw a record-breaking virtual attendance at COP 27. During the event, world leaders agreed to a 'loss and damages fund', which provides vital financial support to vulnerable countries affected by climate disasters. In our upcoming report, we suggest that despite coming out of COP 27 with advanced aid for countries who need it - the outcomes of this year's event will not proactively keep global emissions below the 1.5 C threshold required to avoid climate catastrophe. World leaders will need to do more if our goal of Net-Zero is to be achieved. 

What Astutis have done in the past year 

A fundamental cog in our operations is consistent quality control—understanding how our courses or learning formats can improve. Our Learning Design team have led by example this past year, introducing incredible innovations to our Online Training format. Our Online Training courses have grown in popularity over the last couple of years, finally reaching the 50,000 Online Learner Milestone earlier this year. Astutis Online courses have been entirely re-purposed and re-energised to promote learner retention and engagement. Our StudySmart™ and ExamSmart™ features and philosophies are for the benefit of our learners and their eventual success. 

On the topic of success, we couldn't be happier for the 2020-2022 NEBOSH Diploma classes. 248 Astutis learners donned their capes and finally received their NEBOSH Diploma certificates. Four of our learners were also praised for their terrific study; 

• Kris Yorke - The Ed Ferrett Award for the Best Candidate for the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety 2021 -2022.
• Howard Coney -The Award for the Best Candidate for the NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals (Unit DNI)
• Neil Dotti – The Richard Booth Award for the Best Candidate for the NEBOSH Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals (Unit B) 2021-2022.
• Simon Steel - The David Morris Award for Best Candidate in the NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals. 

In the most recent NEBOSH Diploma exam sittings, our learners set a record-high first past time rate, at 85%. The average pass mark was an incredible 82%, approximately 20% higher than any other training provider (at the time of publication). 

I want to personally congratulate every Astutis learner for their dedication and hard work over the past twelve months (or even longer if your graduation was unfortunately delayed). 

Accessibility is a treasured attribute we prize, and ensuring learners can conveniently begin their training journey is vital. Therefore, we recently introduced the ability to transact in their preferred currency. 

We have also been busy incorporating more and more courses into our wide training catalogue. We have introduced the following courses;

• IEMA Pathways to Net Zero - a ground-breaking course that strategies the all-important pathways for organisations to achieve carbon neutrality. 
• NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Accident Investigation - Online 
• NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessments at Work - Online 
• NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work Award
• NEBOSH IIRSM Risk Management - Online 
• Astutis Managing Contractors - Online
• DSE Assessor (Built in Risk Assessment process inc.) Online
• Astutis Approved Manual Handling - Online 
• NEBOSH International General Certificate - eBookPlus+
• NEBOSH International General Certificate - Distance
• Manual Handling Assessment - Online
• NEBOSH Diploma Re-purpose: Astutis Technical Director, Brenig Moore, has completely rewritten and refreshed our incarnation of the NEBOSH Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals. 

We will continue to introduce more courses and more learning formats for every course to ensure learners across the world can enhance their health, safety and environmental understanding and make the world a safer place for all. 

All that is left for me to say is that I hope all learners in the Astutis Family have a wonderful festive period and new year. 

Stay safe,

Steve Terry, Astutis Managing Director.