OHS officers

[Wrench]

Anyone here a qualified OHS officer or work in the OHS field? ive just signed up to cert iv in OHS as id like to use that as a qualification to go fifo (if thats possible...)
Just seein if anyone has/is doing similar and what its like.

[Evman]

I'm an OHS Representative, which is the most basic form of an OHS role, and includes an entire 1 week of training lmao. It runs parallel to my job as a pipeline and umbilical technician. None the less, had a reasonable amount of experience in the field which runs parallel to pretty much all major industries these days. Working in Oil and Gas OHS is a huge factor and is only growing. IMO you're getting into the right industry as there is work a-plenty and money to be made.

Be prepared though, you're going to come up against a lot of opposition. It's not a job for a push over, without trying to sound rude. You really have to be able to stand your ground, know what you're talking about, and enforce your opinion/decision. None the less I've only been in the oil/gas industry for 3 years and I've already seen a general improvement in workers' opinions towards OHS.

As a guide, one of my workmates quit our company after 14 years with us, and something mad like 30 years in the oil/gas industry for an OHS role after completing a similar course, mostly via recognition of prior learning. His salary was around $115k but the overall package was worth around $180-190k, as a very fresh OHS Officer (had been doing an on-site role within our company for about 6 months). The more experience you get the better because you might then be able to contract. One of the contracting Officers I met on the Pluto platform (Woodside) earned around $300k in a year. Bulk cash.

You may find it difficult to get a start. Most positions are for experienced personnel but don't let that phase you. If you see a position advertised, apply for it but be honest and tell them you're just starting out. There's usually gaps that can be filled so you might get snapped up as a result.

Overall, definitely worth getting into the industry. It's growing faster than most and is being taken more seriously every day.

[Wrench]

Cheers for the info Evman!! Yeah ive heard from some people that is not a role for the faint hearted so to say.. But for the money thats to be made, im game! Currently im a structural drafter so i wanted to use that background to get into ohs. plan is to see if i cant get a job around christmas whilst still studying (online course).

No doubt its a case of using sites like seek.com.au to look for work, and i know its still early days yet, but i was hoping there might be some contacts lurking around here who i could speak to in the future about possible positions..

[twostroke]

hey guys,

Good to see others interested in this field of work. That said it's not about the money, you get paid to keep people safe so if you're in it for the bottom dollar you could be in for a rough ride. I'm a student in this field and I have recently attended a lecture where the course coordinator stated clearly that after 2012 there will be changes made to the amount of education needed for people in the field, the minimum, she said, was an undergraduate degree from a uni.

All the best in your endeavours and good luck, the people in the field have a pretty good bullshit detector inbuilt into them and can quickly pick up on where they stand with you. I recommend gaining some work experience or volunteer work with a charity or the SES. It shows initiative and that you give a shit about the greater community, not just your wallet.

[TJ]

New nation wide OSH legislation kicks off 01/01/12.

Massive changes to some things. Alot of osh people are going to make alot of money from it.

[Damo 69]

Keep a level head, actually give a fuck about keeping people safe and dont try and palm off your work to project engineers =D and you will be fine =D

in all seriousness 80% of agro towards ohs is gone, but i may be in a more accepting industry due to working in oil & gas. ....very rarely will you be told to fuck off due to legitimate concerns.

[luke20t]

Sounds interesting, im about due for a career change!
Do you need a background with working in the mines? Ive never worked on a site before.

[crabman]

I really am an idiot for trying to stick with my current company and not branching off into OHS field after my back injury. Any links to all the changes taking place at the end of the year??

[ben351]

any OH&S people give me an email if you rlooking for FIFO work ... or local work too i have a few roles on with my clients.

bnewnham@astonrecruitment.com.au

[tehobbit]

Hey mate,

I went the same way as you, but being green to the field made my life a little hard but after a a year of smashing out resumes/going to interviews i got a start.
I also did my Cert 4 in TAE, helps a little but its mainly just prior experience. coming from mainly customer service and sales didn't help my case much but persistence always pays.

[TTZ]

your going to find it hard to get a foot in the door if you don't have any mining, offshore or emergency services background. Larger sites may be able to accomodate you but the smaller ones like to see a strong combination of OH&S, cert IV medic, cert IV T&A and the ERT disciplines (cert III public safety) so that you can fit all the safety roles and co-ordinate
It's a bit hard to say you can make the place safer when you don't really understand how the facility and the workers operate

I'm also interested in the changes coming about next year, further info?

[DanWA]

We are hiring 2 OHS people at work, 7 on 7 off, less then 2 hours from perth and pay more then FIFO usually

Pretty sure its on seek

[crabman]

It's a bit hard to say you can make the place safer when you don't really understand how the facility and the workers operate

I'm also interested in the changes coming about next year, further info?

Main reason that turned me off going down this path, still too many 'green' people with no workshop floor experience etc trying to preach shit from a book/4 day course they did. Could think of nothing worse trying to improve a workplaces safety then having someone with no idea tell me how it should be when they have never had to do the work and have no understanding of the processing they will affect in changes made. Sometimes for a neglible gain in safety and a tenfold increase in lack of productivity.

[Wrench]

having someone with no idea tell me how it should be when they have never had to do the work and have no understanding of the processing they will affect in changes made.

exactly my thinking.. im doin this cert 4 course as a means to get the knowledge in the OHS processes. But my plan is to work fifo doing something, anything and move within that company into OHS, thatway ill have a good understanding of the processes for the site etc..
ideally id love to work fifo and still study my course, kill 2 birds with one stone type thing.. but we'll see how that pans out..

[Chris89]

id love to work fifo and still study my course, kill 2 birds with one stone type thing.. but we'll see how that pans out..

I completed my Cert 4 whilst working Fifo, it can be done, not easy but is possible. Just gotta avoid going for drinks after work before hitting the books.

[Ash-u-lee]

I did my certIV in OHS through IFAP at the beginning of the year, i thoroughly enjoyed it. I work for compass at current trying to get up on site. Its hard to find people willing to take on a trainee but as my cert IV cost me 4k to do, im still saving up to do my diploma beginning of next year.

Experience within a company is key, you really need to be trained up in their particular ideals and processes. Stand your ground and make sure shit is done right. Experience is something that im trying to get at the moment but its hard when everyone is looking for OHS professionals with experience but no-one is willing to train us guys that are entering the profession.

Good luck!!

[crabman]

4k? wow they charge heaps lol.

[Ash-u-lee]

Yep $4,1xx for a 2 week course.

Everyone else in the course got sponsored to complete the course through their parent company. I did it myself so i could leave the job i was in at the time. Will be even better when my boss does what he said he was going to and put me up on site with an experienced OHS co-ordinator.

[JBAE]

mine cost me $2500 or less 2 week course with a fcuking amazing lecturer! trainwest

[Wrench]

yeah you can condense a cert 4 course into a few weeks but you pay for it. i have some mates doing one next week, gona take them about a month or 2 bit its costin them over a grand. doing it thru tafe online over the course of a year costs like $700.

[JBAE]

Anyone here work fro John holland ?

[ossie_21]

Also thinking of getting my Cert IV done, but looking to get peoples opinions as I think similar to what people have mentioned here...my backgrounds are hospitality & currently manufacturing, but probably a good 80% of OHS jobs are in mining & construction, hard to get into without those backgrounds I'd think.

I've done basic stuff through my apprenticeship, manual handling courses at work etc. I know some/most people find it boring as bat shit, but I've always picked it up easily & taken it all in so that's why I'm interested. I'm looking for a career & not just a job, but I'm thinking of doing one of the condensed courses (2k+ for 2 weeks) while I go on leave without pay from work, so I don't do it while I'm out of work, pretty risky these days to do that. Anyone in the field care to PM me & give me some insight??

[JBAE]

If you going the block course route IMO use train-west get in on their courses with a guy called dave Birbeck he is an amazing lecturer knows his shit epically, im crap at classrooms and such but he conveys his knowledge awesomely and the course structure will benefit you heaps and he actually gives a fuck.

also IMO if your looking to head into mining OHS try getting a job out there first doing something else so your onsite ect have experience and such and have a good grounding of what your talking about, nothing worse than some one trying to convey safety and telling people the ins and outs of their jobs they have likely been doing for years whenyou have little idea yourself you just dont get the respect and people listening to you (was an issue we had at my last rig with one of the OHS guys was a bookworm nothing else), and you will notice alot of people on the courses have their courses paid for them by their employer.

Thats my oppinion others may disagree, its an awesome career path and pays stupid money...