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IOSH Training Courses

IOSH courses are the most widely recognised health and safety training in the UK for people who manage rather than specialise. They are short, practical and written in plain terms rather than technical language, and unlike the construction-specific CITB schemes they apply in any sector. The right one depends entirely on what you are responsible for.

IOSH courses: Working Safely, Managing Safely, the Managing Safely Refresher, Safety for Executives and Directors, and Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Illustration of IOSH training: a worker in hi-vis and safety glasses beside a wet floor sign, a manager pointing at a checklist on an easel, a calendar with refresh arrows for the three-year refresher, a director beside a rising performance chart, and a heart with a pulse line for occupational health and wellbeing. Select any part of the scene to see its courses. IOSH Working Safely courses IOSH Managing Safely courses IOSH Managing Safely Refresher courses 3 IOSH Safety for Executives and Directors courses IOSH Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing courses
Click or tap any part of the scene to see its courses: Working Safely, Managing Safely and its refresher, Safety for Executives and Directors, and Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing.
Awarding bodyCharteredIOSH designs the courses; approved providers deliver them
CertificatesDo not expireRefreshing every three years is recommended, not required
Entry requirementsNoneNo previous health and safety knowledge assumed
SectorsAnyNot construction-specific, unlike the CITB schemes

Which IOSH course do you need?

The range is built around levels of responsibility. Pick by what you actually do rather than by job title, and remember that a course written for the wrong level is money spent for nothing.

Everyone

IOSH Working Safely

One day, for employees at any level in any sector. Covers personal responsibility, everyday hazards and why safety matters, without any expectation that you manage others. Often used as part of induction. Compare Working Safely courses.

Managers

IOSH Managing Safely

Three days in a classroom, and the one most people mean when they say "IOSH". For anyone who supervises or manages a team or a work area, covering responsibilities, risk assessment, control measures, incident investigation and measuring performance. Assessed by a written test and a practical risk assessment on your own workplace. Compare Managing Safely courses.

Renewing

IOSH Managing Safely Refresher

One day, for people who already hold Managing Safely. The certificate does not expire, but IOSH recommends refreshing every three years, and most client PQQs are written to that expectation. You need your original certificate number to enrol. Compare Refresher courses.

Directors

IOSH Leading Safely

A single session of around five hours, for directors, chief executives and senior leaders. Focused on strategy, governance and safety performance across an organisation rather than day-to-day control of a work area. Compare Leading Safely courses.

Specialist

Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing

For managers with specific responsibility for health and wellbeing rather than safety alone, covering an area increasingly written into client expectations and tender documents. See the course.

How IOSH sits against NEBOSH and the CITB schemes

These three get confused constantly, and none of them substitutes for another. IOSH is management training for people who handle safety as part of a wider job. NEBOSH is a substantially longer qualification for people whose role is health and safety itself, and it is what employers name when recruiting into safety posts. The CITB schemes are about site access.

If you work in construction, SMSTS or SSSTS is what principal contractors require to run or supervise a site, and those expire after five years with no grace period. Managers who work across sectors commonly hold IOSH and a CITB certificate together. Our free Site Safety Plus course finder sorts out the construction side.

Common questions

Do IOSH certificates expire?

No. IOSH certificates carry no expiry date. IOSH recommends taking the Managing Safely Refresher every three years so your training reflects current legislation and practice, but the original qualification remains valid. In practice many clients and pre-qualification questionnaires treat three years as though it were a rule, so keeping current is usually a commercial decision rather than a compliance one.

Which IOSH course should I take?

If you supervise or manage anyone, Managing Safely is almost certainly the one, and it is what clients mean when they ask for IOSH-trained supervision. Working Safely is for employees who do not manage others. Leading Safely is for board-level responsibility and is not a substitute for Managing Safely if you also run a team.

Is IOSH the same as NEBOSH?

No. They sit at different levels and answer different needs. IOSH Managing Safely takes three days and is written for managers. A NEBOSH General Certificate involves substantial study and written assessment and is aimed at people building a career in health and safety. Managers usually take IOSH; safety professionals take NEBOSH, and many take IOSH first.

Does IOSH get me onto a construction site?

No. Site access is governed by the CITB Site Safety Plus schemes and CSCS cards, not by IOSH. A principal contractor asking for SMSTS will not accept IOSH Managing Safely in its place. The reverse is also true: a manufacturing or facilities client asking for IOSH will not usually accept SMSTS.

Is the e-learning version the same certificate?

Yes. Classroom, live tutor-led online and self-paced e-learning all lead to the same IOSH certificate, and the assessment is the same whichever route you take. What differs is the support around you and the pace. For Managing Safely you still complete the practical risk assessment on your own workplace regardless of format.

How do I check an IOSH certificate is genuine?

IOSH courses must be delivered by an IOSH-approved provider, and every genuine IOSH training certificate can be verified online through IOSH itself. If you are checking a contractor's or a new starter's training record, that verification is the reliable test rather than the certificate document alone.

Compare IOSH courses and dates below

Envico lists scheduled IOSH dates and prices from accredited providers across the UK, including live online instructor-led sessions and self-paced e-learning, so you can compare format, venue and price in one place rather than ringing round. Training a team? Compare on-site delivery against sending people out. Not sure when your last certificate was? The free Certificate Expiry Checker covers 65 qualifications.

IOSH Working Safely 54 courses
IOSH Managing Safely 202 courses
IOSH Managing Safely Refresher 26 courses
IOSH Managing Safely in Social Housing 1 course
IOSH Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing 8 courses
IOSH Managing Safely in Airports and Aviation 1 course
IOSH Leading Safely 7 courses
IOSH Safety for Executives and Directors 23 courses
IOSH SHE for Construction Workers 1 course
IOSH SHE for Construction Site Managers 2 courses
IOSH Managing Working at Height 2 courses
IOSH Fall Protection Equipment Inspection 3 courses
IOSH Managing Sustainability 2 courses
IOSH Fire Safety for Managers 2 courses

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Which IOSH Course Do You Need?

IOSH courses map onto levels of responsibility rather than onto industries. The right one follows from what the person is accountable for.

CourseLengthWho it is for
Working Safely1 dayEmployees at any level, covering their own responsibilities
Managing Safely3 daysAnyone who supervises or manages a team or work area
Managing Safely Refresher1 dayExisting certificate holders keeping it current
Leading SafelyHalf dayDirectors and senior leaders — strategy and governance, not day-to-day control
Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing1 dayManagers with specific health and wellbeing duties

Not sure between Working Safely and Managing Safely? If the person is responsible for other people's safety as well as their own, it is Managing Safely.

About IOSH

What IOSH is

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health is the world's largest professional body for health and safety practitioners, founded in 1945 and a registered charity. It sets the syllabuses and accredits the providers who deliver them, rather than delivering courses itself.

That accreditation is what makes the certificates portable — they mean the same thing to an employer or an auditor whichever provider issued them.

Validity and the three-year rule

No IOSH certificate has a formal expiry date. In practice IOSH recommends refreshing Managing Safely every three years, and most client PQQs and supply chain audits are written to that expectation.

The result is that a certificate older than three years is often queried even though it has not technically lapsed. The one-day Managing Safely Refresher exists for exactly that.

IOSH, CITB or NEBOSH?

CITB Site Safety Plus courses prove site safety competence in construction specifically, and principal contractors usually require them. IOSH is sector-neutral and works the same way in a factory, a hospital or an office.

The NEBOSH General Certificate is a much larger qualification for people who want health and safety to be their profession rather than part of a management role.

What IOSH does not do

Managing Safely demonstrates that a manager understands risk and their legal duties. It does not make someone a competent person for the purposes of appointing formal safety advice.

Where a business needs that, NEBOSH is the usual benchmark. IOSH courses sit alongside professional health and safety qualifications rather than replacing them.

Studying and Booking

Classroom, live online or e-learning

Classroom courses suit teams who benefit from the discussion and shared examples. Live online instructor-led keeps the tutor and the cohort but removes travel and overnight stays.

Self-paced e-learning suits shift patterns and dispersed teams and is usually the cheapest per head. The certificate carries the same accreditation whichever route you take.

The practical project

Managing Safely includes a risk assessment project applied to the delegate's own workplace, alongside the written assessment. It is the part people underestimate.

Come with a real work area in mind — a process, a site or a department you actually manage — and the project is straightforward. Arrive without one and it becomes guesswork.

Training a whole workforce

Working Safely is often rolled out across an entire site or company, and e-learning licences in bulk are usually the cheapest way to do it. For managers, on-site delivery at your own premises removes travel and lets you schedule around operations.

Mixed requirements are common — Working Safely for the workforce, Managing Safely for the supervisors above them.

Entry requirements

None, on any IOSH course. No previous health and safety knowledge is assumed and there are no prerequisites between courses — you do not need Working Safely before Managing Safely.

They are management qualifications rather than technical ones, which is why they work equally well across manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, hospitality, retail and offices.

Common Questions

What is the difference between IOSH Working Safely and Managing Safely?

Working Safely is a one-day course for employees at any level, covering their own responsibilities. Managing Safely is three days and is aimed at people who supervise or manage others, so it deals with assessing and controlling risk for a team or work area.

Does an IOSH certificate expire?

Not formally. IOSH recommends refreshing Managing Safely every three years, and in practice most clients and PQQs treat three years as the working expiry. A certificate older than that is often queried even though it has not technically lapsed.

Do I need Working Safely before Managing Safely?

No. There are no prerequisites. If you supervise or manage others, go straight to Managing Safely.

Is the e-learning version the same certificate?

Yes. Classroom, live online and self-paced e-learning all lead to the same IOSH certificate. The difference is how the syllabus is delivered and how the practical project is supported.

Is IOSH recognised internationally?

Yes. IOSH is a UK body but its certificates are widely recognised across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, particularly with multinational employers and in sectors where UK health and safety standards are influential.

Can we run a course at our own premises?

Yes, for groups. Most providers will deliver on site where numbers justify it, which removes travel and accommodation costs and lets you schedule around operations. Enquire about on-site training.