Today employers and employees are increasingly aware of health and safety concerns in their organisations. Health and Safety training is a required part of many businesses and individual’s professional development. But with a myriad of courses on the offer why have so many picked the NEBOSH General Certificate?

The NEBOSH General Certificate comprises units - NGC1 - Management of Health and Safety, NGC2 - Controlling Workplace Hazards and NGC3 - Health and Safety Practical Application. The learning on the NEBOSH General Certificate is broken down into 80 taught hours and 49 hours of work in the individual’s own time. The NGC1 unit and the NGC2 units are assessed via exams. Both these assessments include 10 short questions and one longer style essay questions, while the NGC3 unit is assessed via a practical evaluation carried out in relation to your own place of work.

The NEBOSH General Certificate appeals to so many people as it offers comprehensive education in health and safety covering UK law and instruction in identifying and controlling hazards. It applies to a wide range of work places and employment roles making it one of the most relevant health and safety courses available. The NEBOSH General Certificate also asks candidates to apply their knowledge in a practical situation, enabling them to put what they have learnt into practice.

The popularity of the NEBOSH General Certificate is based in part on the flexible modular and progressive nature of the training scheme. Once individuals have completed the NGC1 module part of the NEBOSH General Certificate they have a number of options for development open to them.

For examples if a candidate's job changes or their role within an organisation develops they can choose to put there NGC1 modules towards a conversion course. Options available include the NEBOSH Construction certificate or the NEBOSH Fire Risk and Safety certificate. These conversion options enable the individual to attain a new qualification in a different specialism without sitting the full course.

If individuals choose to advance their careers, and have completed the NGC1, NGC2 and NGC3 modules they have a solid grounding on which to take one of a selection of NEBOSH diplomas suitable for health and safety professionals.

Another reason for the lasting popularity of the NEBOSH General Certificate is that after achieving the full qualification individuals are eligible to apply for membership of professional health and safety bodies such as techIOSH, IOSH, AIIRSM and IISRM.

As you would expect for such a popular training course, the NEBOSH General Certificate is run by over 400 training providers across the UK. You can locate the nearest one to your location, compare prices and discover dates that fit in with your diary by using a quick search facility on the internet.

The NEBOSH General Certificate is also available as a distance learning course. These are becoming more popular as support is available by phone, email and online groups meaning candidates can ask questions and discuss ideas even though they are not in the classroom environment. Exams for the distance learning course are still held at nationally recognised NEBOSH centers in order to comply with assessment regulations.