Future Proof your Career - Become a QHSE Auditor
In a rapidly changing career landscape, we need to think ahead. Jobs for life are gone and it’s important that we equip ourselves for the new reality.
Coincidentally the UK is experiencing a skills shortage and QHSE Auditing skills are in high demand. This creates an opportunity for those of us in Commercial, Institutional and Industrial sectors to reskill ourselves as QHSE Auditors.
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 are globally recognised as the leading standards for Quality, Environment and Health & Safety respectively. These standards are critical across all sectors to ensure our products and services meet the customers need, minimise the environmental impacts created and keep people safe. Organisations who are certified to any of these standards have a responsibility to ensure they employ staff that are competent and confident in meeting these requirements and therefore training, or better still a professional qualification, in management systems is valuable.
Let’s look at some examples; the renewable energy sector is blossoming. As our reliance on fossil fuels subsides the expertise required to manage the fast-growing green energy economy is in high demand. As it does those with the ability to lead that process in conformance with international standards will become vital. The same demands are in the food sector where, from supply chains to food service, businesses are under enormous pressure to ensure our food integrity. In fact, all sectors are under pressure to do more, for less, and QHSE Auditors are trained in how to look critically at processes to find improvement opportunities.
The cross-sector recognition of many of these management systems standards mean that once you have a qualification it will be application wherever your career takes you.
So how do I build a career in QHSE?
As mentioned above QHSE standards are common to most sectors and with experience in your organisation, you can train in the requirements of any particular standard, learning how it applies to your product or service. The training to achieve this knowledge is a 1 day Foundation level course, the most popular standard being ISO 9001 however similar courses are available in ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 . This knowledge can be researched independently but the CQI and IRCA certificate awarded on completion offers international recognition in competence.
With knowledge in your chosen standard, your next career step should be to become an Internal Auditor. Internal Auditors in a particular standard have the responsibility, often as part on an Internal Audit team, to check that their organisation meets the requirements of the standard. This is mandatory for any certified company – therefore every company must employ, or outsource, Internal Auditors.
If you want to specialise in QHSE auditing, as a Quality Manager, Environmental Officer or similar, there is a professional qualification in each discipline. This qualification will equip you to manage standards within your organisation and also open the door to a career as a Third-Party Auditor – as an employee or running your own business. At iqms Learning we deliver Lead Auditor qualification courses in the following disciplines;
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, BRCGS Issue 9, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000
If you’d like to talk through your experience and whether a career in QHSE Auditing is for you please contact us https://iqmslearning.co.uk/contact. A member of our team will contact you for a friendly chat.