Which qualification(s) would NEBOSH recommend for UK learners ages 14-19 interested in health and safety?

As a starting point, we would suggest the NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work Award. It sits in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) at SCQF Level 5 with 2 credit points. SCQF Level 5 is comparable to RQF Level 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland or GCSE level.

This 3-day course covers the basic health and safety principles and practices essential in the workplace. On completion of the course, a learner will be able to: 

- Understand why health and safety needs to be managed, ensuring effective processes are in place;

- Inspect the workplace, recognising a range of common hazards, evaluating risks (taking account of current controls), recommending further control measures and assigning actions; and

- Understand why incidents happen and how to investigate them.

Further information can be found on our Qualifications Page.

Once this has been achieved, post-16 learners may consider progressing to our Certificate-level qualifications, such as the  National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.

NEBOSH qualifications are primarily intended for adult (post-19) learners operating in the workplace and have not been designed to meet national technical, funding and other criteria for vocational qualifications that can be offered to 14-19 learners in UK schools.

For further information on the restrictions on qualifications that can be offered in schools in the UK, please consult other FAQs in this section regarding learners aged 14-19.

NB: It is the responsibility of maintained schools and academies to check the suitability and eligibility of qualifications offered on school premises or during school time or school-funded activities with the relevant local authority and/or national education department (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland).

No liability is accepted by NEBOSH for information provided by external websites or for any decisions made on the basis of information given here.