Oil and Gas NEBOSH

[AussieRules]

While I'm sat at home moaning about the downturn I thought I'd use my time constructively.

I have been looking at the Oil and Gas NEBOSH Certificate and think I could probably work my way through it reasonably easily.

Has anybody got any experience of this, has it opened any employment doors for them ?

Thanks in Advance

PS on a more positive note the price has crept up by about 10% this week.

[Mr Moo]

AussieRules,

What is your current / last job, was it HSE related?

I did my Nebosh IGC and passed with a credit in 2009, I was a Construction Supervisor Offshore so HSE plays a major part of the responsibilities.

But I have yet to be offered any HSE work based on my Nebosh simply because I have never worked as a safety man! And now of course even more difficult to break into that field.

In my experience Nebosh / IOSH is good to have as a supplemental qualification if you work in a supervisory role in construction, but just getting the certificate will probably not get you a start (unless you know someone that can get you in).

I am currently looking for construction / fabrication / piping supervision jobs if you know of any.

[AussieRules]

heard a whisper that Wood Group in either Chad or Gabon may have some of your type of work but there's a good chance it has been shelved, worth a look though

[Mr Moo]

heard a whisper that Wood Group in either Chad or Gabon may have some of your type of work but there's a good chance it has been shelved, worth a look though

AussieRules,

Thanks, I got interviewed for Chad then all went quiet.

[KarenBravo]

Had a mate that got laid off. He went and did the NEBOSH so that he could also apply for HSE positions.

Nothing. As Mr. Moo says, never worked as an HSE man before.

It's pretty much like that all through the oil business. Experience counts and is valued way more than bits of paper.

[NanLaew]

Switching to HSE during or following an industry downturn has been going on for years. Plenty of guys that took that option on the last crash are not avoiding redundancy today. In my niche of the exploration industry, it was always the 'not very good' managers that went the HSE route and ultimately became not very good at that as well. When a company announces 5000 layoffs or a 15% workforce reduction, the cuts are across the board. Why would they retain an HSE Manager over a Construction Supervisor when they aren't doing any construction at all?

There's no denying that adding an industry recognized HSE certification to ones portfolio isn't a bad thing and may be helpful when things improve but as others have stated, if you have never actually done any dedicated HSE management work since getting that certificate, it won't open any doors any faster. I don't mention my Boy Scout Knot Master gong on my cv any more either.

[KarenBravo]

Switching to HSE during or following an industry downturn has been going on for years. Plenty of guys that took that option on the last crash are not avoiding redundancy today. In my niche of the exploration industry, it was always the 'not very good' managers that went the HSE route and ultimately became not very good at that as well. When a company announces 5000 layoffs or a 15% workforce reduction, the cuts are across the board. Why would they retain an HSE Manager over a Construction Supervisor when they aren't doing any construction at all?

There's no denying that adding an industry recognized HSE certification to ones portfolio isn't a bad thing and may be helpful when things improve but as others have stated, if you have never actually done any dedicated HSE management work since getting that certificate, it won't open any doors any faster. I don't mention my Boy Scout Knot Master gong on my cv any more either.

The reason people go into HSE during a downturn is that so many different industries and businesses use them. The O&G and mining industries maybe in melt-down, but, there's plenty of industry sectors that are booming.

[NanLaew]

Switching to HSE during or following an industry downturn has been going on for years. Plenty of guys that took that option on the last crash are not avoiding redundancy today. In my niche of the exploration industry, it was always the 'not very good' managers that went the HSE route and ultimately became not very good at that as well. When a company announces 5000 layoffs or a 15% workforce reduction, the cuts are across the board. Why would they retain an HSE Manager over a Construction Supervisor when they aren't doing any construction at all?

There's no denying that adding an industry recognized HSE certification to ones portfolio isn't a bad thing and may be helpful when things improve but as others have stated, if you have never actually done any dedicated HSE management work since getting that certificate, it won't open any doors any faster. I don't mention my Boy Scout Knot Master gong on my cv any more either.

The reason people go into HSE during a downturn is that so many different industries and businesses use them. The O&G and mining industries maybe in melt-down, but, there's plenty of industry sectors that are booming.

In my 40 years of work experience (which I think is in the same niche as yourself), I don't recall a single former PM or Chief Ob or Gun Mech who moved to HSE and SUBSEQUENTLY left the industry and gained employment in another company in a totally different industry. There's a certain degree of transferable HSE skill sets in many industries but the O&G one does tend to be very specialized and therefore quite limited. At the end of the day, if anyone from any industry has a NEBOSH but no relevant experience in implementing HSE policy or doing HSE management, then he isn't going to be first round draft pick material.

[KarenBravo]

Maybe because there has never been a slump as bad as this one in the last 40 years.

As these ex-seismic personnel don't stand a chance of getting hired by a seismic company at the moment, the logical thing to do is try to get hired in another industry.

I disagree with you. The majority of the HSE is transferable.

As I've said before, without experience in the position, it's highly unlikely that they will get hired. But, what's the alternative? Not try and watch all your savings disappear?

[NanLaew]

Maybe because there has never been a slump as bad as this one in the last 40 years.

As these ex-seismic personnel don't stand a chance of getting hired by a seismic company at the moment, the logical thing to do is try to get hired in another industry.

I disagree with you. The majority of the HSE is transferable.

As I've said before, without experience in the position, it's highly unlikely that they will get hired. But, what's the alternative? Not try and watch all your savings disappear?

I agree this slump has all the appearances of being the worst in memory although I have (just) managed to remain employable whereas in the 1990 slump (remember when oil was less than $10/bbl?) I was out of work for about 6 months before pitching my tent in Brazil where, like present day Myanmar, there was a mini-boom. Prior to that in the early 80's slump, I stayed employed in China while they had soup kitchens in Houston. I guess one has to be in the right place at the right time.

Yes, the core HSE values and principles are transferable but I would still consider that someone with +10 years of exclusive marine seismic HSE experience isn't going to be short-listed for an offshore construction HSE position. I do agree with you that someone taking those skill sets and applying outside the oil patch may get lucky. Someone may see the value of hiring a 'newbie' with proven abilities in remote and hostile environments for some leadership oriented new HSE role and take that gamble. Absolutely no harm in trying but making a fundamental career change after almost 40 years of E&P work needs a whole lot of thinking outside a totally different box.

And savings just in case.

[KarenBravo]

I guess it depends on how much the person has saved over the years and whether they can afford to wait it out, or not.

Many people after decades in the industry and are now unemployed, are eating into their retirement savings.

Personally, I don't see any improvement until 2018 at the earliest. I could be wrong, it could be a year, or two more (but, I hope not).

[WorriedNoodle]

>Has anybody got any experience of this, has it opened any employment doors for them ?

I got my NEBOSH back in 2007 when work was good. I spent over 3kUSD on a two week intensive course and accom to get it - mainly because I was interested in it rather than thinking it would get me work. Since then, whilst having the cert as an addition to my Bsc it has made not a jot of difference. I still find employers are mostly falling back on my BSc related field and I have been mostly out of work the past 24 months.