1. Speaking: Chris Rowlands – Director

2. THE HSE EMPLOYMENT MARKET – PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
 EMERGING RECRUITMENT TRENDS IN THE HSE SECTOR
 WHAT MAKES A HSE PROFESSIONAL “EMPLOYABLE”?
HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF?
 HOW IS YOUR CAPABILITY AND SUITABILITY MEASURED?
Added bonus:
• The “Safety Differently” Forum – An Insight

3. WHICH UK INDUSTRY SECTORS ARE PERFORMING WELL?
MAGIC FORMULA =
STRONG OVERALL ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE + HIGH RISK INDUSTRY PROFILE
• INFRASTRUCTURE: CONSTRUCTION & UTILITIES
Crossrail, HS2, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Highways Agency
• GENERAL CONSTRUCTION: power shift/re-emergence of SMEs and sub-contractors
• SUPPLIERS TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: raw materials, construction products, plant etc.
• FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: Hard & Soft services
• MANUFACTURING: Food & Drink; Pharmaceuticals; Chemicals; Automotive
• AFFORDABLE HOUSING / HOUSING CHARITIES
• PUBLIC SECTOR: Healthcare, Education, (pockets of) Central & Local Government

4. RECENT RESEARCH
HR = BAROMETER OF BUSINESS DIRECTION
Trend: Increase in specialist roles
• Wellbeing / Occupational Health
• Resourcing / Talent
• Organisational Design (OD)
• Reward / Comp + Bens
• Learning & Development (L&D) a.k.a. Training

5. EMPLOYED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR?
A recent advantage...

6. PRIVATE SECTOR...TRAINING / L&D
CIPD: LABOUR MARKET OUTLOOK – Autumn 2015
TRAINING EXPENDITURE OVER THE PAST 24 MONTHS (%)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Private Public Voluntary
Increased
Stayed the Same
Decreased

7. BUOYANT MARKET – SHOULD I BE ‘CONTRACTING’?
SHORT ANSWER = MAYBE
• DEMAND vs SUPPLY // LONG-TERM vs SHORT-TERM // KNOWLEDGE-LED vs PROJECT-LED
CDM Consultants/Principal Designers, Process Safety, COMAH, DSEAR, Occupational Health,
Behavioural Safety, Occupational Hygiene
• Recent survey: 25% of HSE contractors currently in a contract of < 12 weeks
• INCREASED FOCUS ON IR35 AND ‘TAX AVOIDANCE SCHEMES’ – WILL THIS AFFECT DEMAND?
Will employers and agencies become responsible – and therefore liable – for deciding whether a
contractor is subject to IR35 via the ‘supervision, direction or control’ test?
• IS CONTRACT WORK ‘ENOUGH’? CAN YOU WALK AWAY?
• STRATEGIC HSE DECISION-MAKING = DELIVERED BY PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. RARELY ‘DELEGATED’

8. HOW COMPETITIVE IS THE MARKET?
CIPD: LABOUR MARKET OUTLOOK – Autumn 2015
NUMBER OF APPLICANTS PER VACANCY
25
15
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Low-skilled Medium-skilled High-skilled

9. 3.5
4.7
5.4
6.1
5.9
2
3
4
5
6
7
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
AVERAGE NUMBER OF INTERVIEWEES PER (PERMANENT) VACANCY
HOW COMPETITIVE IS THE MARKET?

10. OPEN TO OVERSEAS RELOCATION?
• OVERSEAS HSE EMPLOYMENT MARKET MUCH LESS FLUID THAN 2009-2014
• MATURE/MATURING HSE EMPLOYMENT MARKET IN MIDDLE EAST - 2nd/3rd ‘CYCLE’
• DEPRESSION OF GLOBAL OIL & GAS MARKET
• EMERGING MARKETS:
o India – increasingly (NEBOSH) qualified local hires
o India – less likely to see a need to ‘entice’ UK candidates / less financial opportunity to do so
o China – much less transparent market-space / much less experience of UK quals., legislation
o China – language barrier
...will new trade relationships affect opportunities in China?
=

11.  THERE ARE MORE VACANCIES OUT THERE...
 ...BUT IT IS GETTING MORE AND MORE COMPETITIVE
 COMPANIES ARE INTERVIEWING MORE PEOPLE FOR EACH POST AND – GENERALLY – UNDERTAKING
MORE ‘STAGES’ BEFORE MAKING A HIRING DECISION
 THEY ARE ALSO MORE OPEN THAN EVER TO “UP-SKILLING” THEIR EXISTING WORK FORCE –
“SUCCESSION PLANNING” IS ON THE AGENDA
 NICHE EXPERTISE IS COMING TO THE FORE IN THE CONTRACT MARKET
 OVERSEAS OPPORTUNITIES HAVE SLOWED OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS...BUT STILL EXIST
 AND AS FAR AS THE UK GOES, YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH INFRASTRUCTURE
THE HSE EMPLOYMENT MARKET – A SUMMARY

12. WHAT MAKES AN HSE PROFESSIONAL “EMPLOYABLE”?
IF IT REALLY IS A COMPETITIVE MARKET, HOW DO I STAND
OUT FROM THE COMPETITION?
or

13. QUALIFICATIONS
The HSE Recruitment Network are supporters of:

14.  QUALIFICATIONS
 HSE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE (c. 45,000 members of IOSH)
 EXPERIENCE: TRACK RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENTS / TANGIBLE RESULTS
 NICHE AREAS OF EXPERTISE : CDM, Process Safety, COMAH, DSEAR, Occ. Health, Behavioural Safety, Occ. Hygiene
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ADAPTABILITY
 COMMERCIALITY & BUSINESS ACUMEN
 PERSONALITY / ENTHUSIASM AND DRIVE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS
 COMMUNICATION SKILLS / ABILITY TO ENGAGE / GRAVITAS
 AN INNOVATIVE & CREATIVE APPROACH
WHAT MAKES A HSE PROFESSIONAL “EMPLOYABLE”?

15. HOW DO COMPANIES (AND RECRUITERS) ASSESS YOUR
CAPABILITIES AND SUITABILITY FOR ROLES?

16. THE “PERFECT CV”...
• Simple, easy to read format
• Accurate: dates, contact details, information
• Written in the first person
• Concise
• Has an engaging ‘Personal Summary’
• Uses “positive language” & “active language”
• “I” not “we”
• Information is easy to find e.g. section headings
• CV is adapted for each application
• Proof read
• Honest
• Avoids (unnecessary) tables & graphs
• Professional contact email address
• No clichés
TIP:
Imagine yourself on the receiving end of your CV – as a busy hiring manager or decision-maker – and give yourself 30 seconds to review it.
Try using different measures: the reality is some place great value on the personal overview, others tick off the qualification requirements first,
others go straight to job titles and companies worked for.
Is this information easy to find and would you pass the ‘first sift’ in any/all of these scenarios??

17. MODERN INTERVIEW & ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES
 VIDEO “INTRODUCTIONS” AND/OR VIDEO RESPONSES TO SET QUESTIONS
 VIDEO/SKYPE INTERVIEWS
 SITUATIONAL/OBSERVATIONAL & TASK-BASED ASSESSMENTS (e.g. SITE TOUR ASSESSMENTS)
 PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILING TOOLS (e.g. SHL LEVEL A&B, SAVILLE WAVE, THOMAS INTERNATIONAL, MYERS BRIGGS, McQUAIG)
• APTITUDINAL TESTS e.g. VERBAL, NUMERICAL
• BEHAVIOURAL/PERSONALITY PROFILING
• “FUTURE GROWTH & POTENTIAL”
 USE OF OCCUPATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
 SOCIAL MEDIA “ASSESSMENTS”
 360° REFERENCING

18. HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF?
“Safety Differently”
Safety is the absence of negatives
People are the problem
Safety is a bureaucratic activity
People are the solution
Safety is the presence of positives
Safety is an ethical responsibility

19. HOW DOES JOHN GREEN ASSESS POTENTIAL RECRUITS
TO HIS LAING O’ROURKE SAFETY TEAM...?
 VIDEO “INTRODUCTIONS” AND/OR VIDEO RESPONSES TO SET QUESTIONS
 VIDEO/SKYPE INTERVIEWS
 SITUATIONAL/OBSERVATIONAL & TASK-BASED ASSESSMENTS (e.g. SITE TOUR ASSESSMENTS)
 PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILING TOOLS (e.g. SHL LEVEL A&B, SAVILLE WAVE, THOMAS INTERNATIONAL, MYERS BRIGGS, McQUAIG)
• APTITUDINAL TESTS e.g. VERBAL, NUMERICAL
• BEHAVIOURAL/PERSONALITY PROFILING
• “FUTURE GROWTH & POTENTIAL”
 USE OF OCCUPATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
 SOCIAL MEDIA “ASSESSMENTS”
 360° REFERENCING
 VIDEO “INTRODUCTIONS” AND/OR VIDEO RESPONSES TO SET QUESTIONS
 VIDEO/SKYPE INTERVIEWS
 SITUATIONAL/OBSERVATIONAL & TASK-BASED ASSESSMENTS (e.g. SITE TOUR ASSESSMENTS)
 PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILING TOOLS (e.g. SHL LEVEL A&B, SAVILLE WAVE, THOMAS INTERNATIONAL, MYERS BRIGGS, McQUAIG)
• APTITUDINAL TESTS e.g. VERBAL, NUMERICAL
• BEHAVIOURAL/PERSONALITY PROFILING
• “FUTURE GROWTH & POTENTIAL”
 USE OF OCCUPATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS...in fact, he hires them!
 SOCIAL MEDIA “ASSESSMENTS”
 360° REFERENCING

20. HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF?
Whilst everyone is a product of their environment...

21. THANK YOU
Q&A