IOSH have recently made major changes to their membership structure, including a brand-new experience-based route to becoming a Chartered Fellow. Read on to find out everything you need to know about these changes, as well as more information on how to become a member, how to progress through the membership structure, and how an IOSH membership can benefit you and your career.
Who are IOSH?
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as IOSH, is the world’s largest membership body for health and safety professionals. They design and run health and safety awareness training courses in around 130 countries, as well as advising policymakers, commissioning research, and advocating for global change.
What are the different IOSH membership levels?
There are different grades of IOSH membership – which grade you are awarded will depend on your qualifications and experience in the industry.
Student Member
Student Membership is available to anyone studying for an IOSH qualification (such as the Managing Safely), a qualification by another organisation that is accredited by IOSH (such as the NEBOSH National General Certificate), or taking part in a Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) apprenticeship. Once you have completed your qualification, you will be upgraded to the relevant level.
Affiliate Member
Affiliate membership is the entry point for all IOSH members, and you don’t need to be actively studying for a qualification or be responsible for health and safety in your current job role. Affiliate membership is for anyone with an active interest in the health, safety, and wellbeing industry, and is ideal for anyone considering a career in occupational health and safety.
This level is the first step to a higher grade – you can move up as you progress in your career and are able to evidence relevant qualifications and experience.
Technical Member (TechIOSH)
This membership is for those working in an operational health and safety role on an everyday basis. In order to qualify for TechIOSH, you must have an IOSH-accredited Level 3 qualification (or equivalent), such as the NEBOSH General Certificate, NEBOSH Health and Safety Management in Construction, and the NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety. You must also have at least one year’s relevant experience. Technical members are expected to maintain their continual professional development for at least 30 hours per year, to make sure that their knowledge and skills are up to date.
Certified Member (CertIOSH)
Formerly known as Graduate Membership (GradIOSH), this level of membership is for senior health and safety professionals who are working towards achieving Chartered status. In order to be awarded Certified Membership, you must have either:
- A relevant degree-level qualification (such as the NEBOSH National Diploma) and at least two years’ relevant experience in the field
or
- To have progressed through IOSH’s experiential route, if you have a significant leadership experience in health and safety.
Chartered Member (CMIOSH)
IOSH is the only organisation in the world that awards chartered status to health and safety professionals, and it CMIOSH aligns with chartered status in other professions.
There are two routes to achieving Chartered member status:
- Once you have achieved Certified Membership (CertIOSH), you can follow IOSH’s Initial Professional Development route
- You can progress through IOSH’s experiential route if you have five to ten years’ relevant health and safety leadership experience.
To maintain Chartered status, you will need to continue and evidence your professional development, and pass and an online e-learning course developed by IOSH called Ethical Practice in OSH.
Chartered Fellow (CFIOSH)
Chartered Fellowship is the highest level of professional membership that can be attained, and is awarded to candidates who show exceptional dedication to the field.
In order to qualify to be a Chartered Fellow, you must have been a Chartered Member for a minimum of five years, and have five years relevant senior health and safety leadership.
IOSH membership progress. Source: IOSH.com
What changes have IOSH made to their membership structure?
These changes have been put in place by IOSH to make entry routes more clearly defined and the route of progression more transparent. A short summary of the changes are as follows:
- An entirely new experiential route to both Certified and Chartered membership has been added. This allows occupational health and safety leaders (including consultants) to apply for membership based on experience gained over their career, without the need to complete any additional qualifications.
- The ‘Associate’ membership grade has been transitioned to ‘Affiliate’ member instead. Affiliate members can upgrade to Technical, Certified, or Chartered membership with the relevant qualifications and experience, or via the experiential route.
- The membership grade previously known as ‘Graduate’ will now be know as ‘Certified’ instead. The requirements for this grade remain the same.
- The route to achieving Chartered Fellow status has been redesigned so that applicants can evidence ‘excellence in both practice and contribution’.
I’m already an IOSH member – how do these changes affect my status?
All of the changes to the membership structure will happen automatically. As long as you continue to meet the minimum requirements of your membership level, such as proof of your CPD, you will maintain your status. IOSH have also contacted all members with more information.
Why should I become an IOSH member?
IOSH membership provides you with tools, resources, and support throughout every stage of your career as a health and safety professional. It’s recognised across the world and shows your employer, potential employer, colleagues, and the wider community that you are committed to health and safety excellence and have the credentials to support this.
IOSH membership also provides:
- Regular industry news
- Bi-monthly issue of IOSH Magazine
- Access to regular industry events
- Blueprint – for all your career and self-development activity
- Competency framework
- IOSH Mentoring
- Career Hub
- Future Leaders Community
- Continuing professional development (CPD) courses
IOSH members are also granted use of relevant post-nominals such as TechIOSH or CFIOSH to communicate their level of membership.
How do I become an IOSH member?
You can apply for IOSH membership online by visiting:
https://iosh.com/health-and-safety-professionals/become-a-member/
What qualifications do I need for IOSH Membership?
There are no requirements to join IOSH as an Affiliate Member. Once you are a member, you can upgrade your membership to the relevant level depending on your qualifications.
Technical Membership (TechIOSH)
Affiliate members can progress to Technical Membership if they achieve an IOSH-accredited Level 3 qualification (equivalent to a GCSE), in addition to one-years’ experience in the industry.
This can include:
- NEBOSH General Certificate
- NEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety
- NEBOSH Certificate for Health and Safety Management in Construction
Certified Membership (CMIOSH)
To obtain Certified Membership, members must achieve a recognised Level 6 qualification, such as the NEBOSH Diploma or a Level 6 NVQ in Health and Safety.
Can I become an IOSH Member if I don’t have any qualifications?
You can still become an IOSH member at the Affiliate level if you don’t have any qualifications, or at the Student level if you are actively studying for an IOSH-accredited course.
You can also upgrade your membership by evidencing your real-life experience in the industry rather than achieving qualifications
How much does an IOSH membership cost?
Your first year of IOSH membership will cost £208, which includes the joining fee. The annual fee from then on will depend on your membership level. This ranges from £147 to £203 per year.
Anyone actively studying for a relevant qualification can apply for Student Membership for a one-off fee of £15.
All the information in this article is correct as of January 2024, to stay up to date with the latest information on IOSH membership please visit IOSH.com.