IOSH Membership – Levels, post nominals and application
IOSH Membership & How to get it
Membership from the worlds largest Health & Safety practitioners is widely sought after and can greatly improve your career prospects. First you need to understand just what IOSH is and does.
What is IOSH?
- The only Chartered body for Health and Safety Practitioners in the world.
- IOSH is the “Institution of Occupational Safety & Health”.
- Their main goal is to promote health and safety globally.
- They are a UK based, international professional membership body for the health and safety industry.
- With 44,000+ members around the world, they have diverse international foundations.
What are the main benefits of being a member of IOSH?
- Employers can quickly distinguish between You and Your rivals.
- Recognition of your aptitude within the industry.
- Globally recognised Continual Professional Development (CPD) program.
- Network of local branches and groups, with regular meetings.
- Post nominal letters pertaining to your membership level.
- Monthly subscription to the IOSH Magazine.
- Weekly update bulletins.
- Free online resources.
- Access to 300+ free or low cost seminars each year.
What are the levels of membership?
There are 4 “entry” levels of IOSH membership and 2 additional levels.
| 1 | Affiliate Member | Entry Level |
| 2 | Associate Member | Entry Level |
| 3 | Technical Member | Entry Level |
| 4 | Graduate Member | Entry Level |
| 5 | Chartered Member | |
| 6 | IOSH Fellow* |
*We will not be providing information regarding becoming an IOSH Fellow, should you require assistance with this please contact IOSH directly.
What are Post Nominals?
“Post Nominals” are letters placed after a person’s name to indicate that that individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, office, military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity.
Post Nominals available with IOSH memberships are:
| 1 | Affiliate Member | |
| 2 | Associate Member | AIOSH |
| 3 | Technical Member | TechIOSH |
| 4 | Graduate Member | CertIOSH |
| 5 | Chartered Member | CMIOSH |
How do I know what level of membership I should apply for?You don’t need to worry about this, IOSH will assess what level of membership you qualify for, based upon your qualifications, experience and current job role.
You are limited to “Graduate Membership” when starting this process, moving up to “Chartered” and “Fellow” Membership will be explained later.
As a guide you can use this table:
| 1 | Category | |
| 2 | Affiliate Member | IOSH Working safely, IOSH Managing Safely |
| 3 | Associate Member | NVQ level 3, NEBOSH Certificate (IGC, NGC, NCC, ICC, IFC, FC) No more than 2years health & safety work experience |
| 4 | Technical Member | NVQ level 3, NEBOSH Certificate (IGC, NGC, NCC, ICC, IFC, FC) No less than 2 years health & safety work experience |
| 5 | Graduate Member | NVQ Level 5, NEBOSH National / International Diploma |
How can I become a Chartered Member?
Progression to “Chartered Membership” requires you to undertake an “Initial Professional Development” (IPD), and professional Interview with your peers. There are 2 types of IPD, the qualifications you completed to achieve “Graduate Membership” status determines which IPD route you follow. Following your IPD, you are required to undertake a successful “Peer Interview” before progressing to Chartered Membership.
| 5 | Chartered Member | Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Open assessment (open book exam) Academic Qualification (NEBOSH Diploma) Skills portfolio (evidence of practical application) – (Mini NVQ) |
How do I apply for IOSH membership?
To join IOSH you can complete the online application at: https://www.iosh.co.uk/Membership/Become-a-member/Join-us.aspx
Annual subscription fees are applicable.
Patrick Frayne
See here if you’re interested specifically in studying an online IOSH course.
Hi, we are based Dubai and we are looking for iosh membership, please reply with the procedures
Hello Nazar,
The process is relatively simple and painless.
How to get IOSH Membership
First for IOSH membership, students need to complete the online application form, pay the fee and send off their CV (or résumé). IOSH will review this and decide on the level of membership the candidate best fits into. It’s that easy.
An example applying for IOSH Membership: If the student for example completes a certificate level qualification and his membership is TechIOSH, once the student completes the higher level such as diploma or NVQ level 5, the student can resend their details and IOSH will reassess the membership level they will assign to them.
Once the student reaches CertIOSH membership level, the student will need to undertake a period of CPD (continued personal development) on the IOSH CPD system to work towards Chartered membership (the next level-up from CertIOSH).
Further info on memberships
To help clarify below are some links you can use to help you, although as stated, it’s as easy as paying the fee and sending your details.
Here is a link to the different types of iosh memberships: https://www.iosh.co.uk/Membership/About-membership/Membership-categories.aspx
Here is a link to the how to become a member section: https://www.iosh.co.uk/Membership/Become-a-member/Ways-to-join/Join-by-post-another-part-of-the-world.aspx