Do I Need the NEBOSH General Certificate Before a NEBOSH Diploma Course?
A NEBOSH Diploma qualification is one of the most prestigious and sought-after of health and safety qualifications, not to mention also being one of the most comprehensive in terms of the amount of effort involved and the time required to complete all of the work demanded of the syllabus and necessary self-study.
Because of its status, many people who are contemplating enrolling upon a health and safety training course and achieving a recognised qualification will want to go for the "best" one that they can, particularly as these courses are far from cheap and so delegates will want to get the highest qualification for their money.
However unlike a NEBOSH General Certificate course or similar, which is suitable for those with little or no knowledge, a NEBOSH Diploma course is pitched at a much higher academic level, equivalent to a degree-level qualification. As a consequence, a suitable level of health and safety knowledge and experience is necessary in order to achieve it. Also, a NEBOSH Diploma incorporates a significant amount of self-study which relies upon the candidate having a suitable foundation of relevant knowledge. It is for this reason therefore that already holding a NEBOSH General Certificate or equivalent before attempting the NEBOSH Diploma is so important in order for the individual to already have acquired a sufficient level of health and safety knowledge to give them a fighting chance of obtaining the NEBOSH Diploma qualification. Without this, they may end up paying out a large amount of money for a course which they realistically have little to no chance of passing and actually achieving the accredited certificate at the end.
For some this can invoke an angry reaction as it does mean that to acquire a Diploma they need to spend time attending and fork out even more money beforehand through enrolling upon another health and safety course such as the NEBOSH General. Because some of the information taught on the Diploma syllabus will be extremely similar to that of the General, many will be left scratching their heads as to why they have been forced to achieve the General Certificate beforehand. The answer is that, as already mentioned in this article, the NEBOSH Diploma builds upon the information taught on the NEBOSH General Certificate and requires delegates to go away and use this knowledge during their self-study periods. This information will encompass a broad spectrum of health and safety issues; not only specific risks such as hazardous substances/COSHH and manual handling etc, but also specific subject areas like risk assessments, control procedures and health and safety policies for example.
There may be some health and safety training providers who will relax the requirement for potential delegates to already hold the NEBOSH General Certificate, but these will be few and far between and are likely to be ones who care more about taking a person's money than ensuring that they have at least a chance of achieving this comprehensive qualification. Well-established and reputable health and safety training providers like Associated Training will pre-vet potential NEBOSH Diploma candidates before taking a penny from them to ensure suitable eligibility.
