THE KNOWLEDGE IN T ERV IEW
25 not out We speak to Paul Singh CMIOSH about the issues that continue to keep him fresh and motivated after a quarter of a century in health and safety. INTERVIEW MATT LAMY ne of the great attractions of a career in health and safety for fledgling professionals is the idea that the world is your oyster. You really could end up working in any sector, in any part of the globe. But there is another, perhaps less promoted quality that can be found in OSH: ironically, that is security. Find the right role and employer and – now rare among most modern professions – you could have a mutually fruitful working relationship that lasts for decades. In the case of Paul Singh CMIOSH, over the course of 25 years in health and safety, he has had just two employers. ‘On one hand, 25 years does seem like a long time, but at other times it seems like I’ve only been in OSH for a few years,’ Paul says. ‘Back in 1997, I was working in general retail and looking for a fresh challenge. In the late 1990s accidents and incidents in the workplace were peaking and there was a lot of talk around OSH. ‘As somebody who is naturally peoplefocused, I took the decision that I wanted to work in an area where I could support people. So, I took out a career development loan to embark on my first formal safety qualification, which was a diploma-level safety qualification back in 1997-98, and the rest is history.’
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water systems treatment solutions provider. While there is a common belief that change keeps you fresh, Paul says there are other ways to be inspired. ‘I enjoy the different challenges that each day working in OSH management brings. Using a cricketing analogy, it can be like batting on a turning wicket and the occasional curve ball coming down at you. One never stops learning and developing in OSH. ‘I also enjoy networking and engaging with peers and colleagues, and also fellow professionals. I am also very fortunate in
that I have a very good support mechanism around me in the form of my family and circle of friends. We encourage and motivate each other. I think that is a great resource to have.’ His relationship with IOSH is also a key motivating factor. Three years ago, Paul became a Chartered Member of IOSH, and he is now committed to becoming a Chartered Fellow. ‘I’m so determined that I think it’s a question of when I become a Fellow, not if!’ Paul jokes. ‘The process towards achieving Chartered status was very well structured but I remember feeling somewhat nervous. It was a two-part process, and in the second part I was interviewed by a panel of fellow professionals on behalf of IOSH. I am usually very confident addressing groups of people as I have many years’ experience in training and effective communications but I remember, the day before, brushing up on my knowledge and feeling a strange sense of nervousness. In
Finding inspiration Today, Paul is group health, safety and environmental manager (UK) at Midlandsbased King and Moffatt Building Services, after spending almost two decades with the SHEQ (safety, health, environmental, quality) and compliance team at a leading
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