The NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Health and Safety Leadership Excellence is designed for leaders who influence health and safety performance. Developed with the HSE, it focuses on leadership behaviours, decision-making, and culture, helping senior leaders drive meaningful, sustainable improvement across their organisation.
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Description
The NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Health and Safety Leadership Excellence is a specialist qualification developed by NEBOSH in collaboration with the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It is designed for senior leaders, directors, managers, and those aspiring to leadership roles who have the ability to influence health and safety performance within their organisation.
Rather than focusing on technical health and safety knowledge, this course concentrates on leadership behaviours, decision-making, and organisational culture. It explores how leaders shape attitudes, influence behaviour, and create environments where people feel supported, trusted, and empowered to work safely.
Across the day, learners explore the five HSE leadership values, supported by real-world discussion, reflection, and practical application. Topics include building a shared health and safety vision, understanding moral, legal and business drivers, gaining assurance that health and safety is being managed effectively, and positively influencing safety culture.
The course also addresses human factors and decision-making, including human failure, mental shortcuts, bias, habits, and beliefs, helping leaders understand why people behave the way they do at work.
Assessment is embedded throughout the day using reflective statements, encouraging learners to evaluate their own leadership approach and commit to realistic improvements that can be applied immediately in their organisation.
Qualification Breakdown
Element 1: The Foundations of Health and Safety Leadership
Explores the reasons for leadership excellence, building a shared health and safety vision, moral, legal and business drivers, leadership assurance, and the influence of leadership on safety culture.
Element 2: Human Factors and Decision Making
Examines human failure, errors and violations, mental shortcuts, bias, habits, beliefs, and how these influence leadership decisions and safety outcomes.
Element 3: Leadership Styles and Workforce Engagement
Covers leadership styles, the HSE leadership model, effective communication, building trust and rapport, leadership walkabouts, and encouraging learning and improvement
Assessment
The method of assessment is a 5-step reflective journey:
Step 1 – Shared Health and Safety Vision
You reflect on how you build and promote a shared health and safety vision.
Step 2 – Fairness and Trust
You evaluate how you promote fairness and trust in relationships with others.
Step 3 – Support and Recognition
You reflect on how you provide support and recognise positive health and safety behaviours.
Step 4 – Considerate and Responsive Leadership
You assess how effectively you listen, respond, and engage with others.
Step 5 – Improvement, Innovation and Learning
You reflect on how you encourage learning and continuous improvement.
Assessment is completed throughout the course, marked internally, externally moderated by NEBOSH, and graded Pass or Refer. Results are typically issued within 24 working days.
