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NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety
The General Certificate for people who do not work under British law. Same standing as the National, same two units, same employers asking for it, built on international standards rather than the UK statute book. Delivered live online from the UK by a Gold NEBOSH Learning Partner.
About this course
The NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety is the international version of the qualification most employers mean when they say they want somebody NEBOSH qualified. It is written for managers, supervisors and anybody taking on health and safety responsibility, and it assumes no safety background at all.
The difference between this and the National General Certificate is the legal framework, not the standard. The National is built on British law: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, the Management Regulations, the UK enforcement regime. The International is built on international standards and the ILO conventions instead, so it travels. If you are working in the Gulf, Africa, Asia or mainland Europe, or you are a UK employer with people on overseas sites, this is the one that fits.
It is two units. GIC1 is assessed by an open book examination and a closing interview about what you submitted. GIC2 is a practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace. Both are set and marked by NEBOSH, not by us.
We deliver it live online, so the classroom is the same wherever you are sitting, and we run it from our centres and at employers' own premises as well. Every candidate gets a named Individual Learning Advisor and access to our learning portal between sessions, which is the part people tell us made the difference at assessment.
- Why managing health and safety matters, in moral, legal and financial terms, and what the business case actually looks like
- The international standards and ILO conventions the qualification is built on, and how they land in a country's own law
- How to build a health and safety management system that works rather than one that files well
- Assessing risk properly: identifying hazards, judging what is likely, and choosing controls that hold
- The common workplace hazards, from physical and chemical to psychosocial, and the controls that go with each
- Investigating incidents to find the cause instead of the culprit
- Measuring whether any of it is working, with leading indicators as well as accident counts
How completing this course helps you
- A NEBOSH International General Certificate, recognised by employers in over 130 countries
- Affiliate membership of IOSH (AIOSH), and Technical membership (Tech IOSH) with the right experience
- Associate membership of IIRSM (AIIRSM)
- The ability to carry out a risk assessment that stands up, and to write the action plan that follows it
- A qualification that sits at SCQF Level 6 with 11 credit points, and the entry point to the NEBOSH Diploma
Who should attend?
Managers, supervisors, team leaders and anybody taking on health and safety responsibility outside the UK legal system. It also suits UK based people who look after overseas operations, and anybody starting a health and safety career in an international business.
Entry requirements. None. NEBOSH set no formal entry requirements, but the qualification is demanding in English and NEBOSH recommend a standard equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or higher. If you are not sure where you sit, talk to us before you book rather than after.
Ready to take the next step?
Choose a delivery option, compare dates and book with confidence, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
National or International
Which General Certificate do you actually need?
This is the question we get asked most, and the answer is simpler than it looks: it is about the law where the work happens, not about where you live or how good the qualification is. The two sit at the same level and employers treat them as equals.
If the workplaces you are responsible for are in Great Britain, take the National General Certificate. It teaches the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, the Management Regulations and the way the HSE enforces them, and a British employer will expect you to know those by name.
If they are anywhere else, take the International. It teaches the same management principles against international standards and ILO conventions instead, which is what an employer in Dubai, Lagos, Singapore or Rotterdam is actually working to. If you genuinely straddle both, ring us and we will talk it through rather than selling you the longer one.
Work in Great Britain
The National General Certificate. British law, British enforcement, and the qualification a UK employer recognises on sight.
Work anywhere else
The International General Certificate. International standards and ILO conventions, recognised by employers in over 130 countries.
Not sure, or both
Talk to us. Holding one does not stop you taking the other later, and plenty of people do exactly that when a job moves.
Course content
What you will cover
The qualification is structured around the management of health and safety and the practical application of risk assessment.
Management of health and safety
- Why we should manage workplace health and safety
- How health and safety management systems work and what they look like
- Managing risk: understanding people and processes
- Health and safety monitoring and measuring
- Assessed by an open book examination, with a closing interview about your submission
Risk assessment
- Physical and psychological health
- Musculoskeletal health, chemical and biological agents
- General workplace issues, work equipment, fire and electricity
- A practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace, with an action plan
- Three hours, submitted to NEBOSH and marked externally
Method of assessment
How the International General Certificate is assessed
NEBOSH set and mark both assessments. We prepare you for them, and our job is that nothing on the day is a surprise.
GIC1: open book examination
A scenario based open book examination, taken remotely. It is followed by a closing interview in which you are asked about what you submitted, so the answers have to be yours.
GIC2: practical risk assessment
Three hours, carried out in a real workplace, producing a risk assessment and an action plan. You need access to a workplace to do it. If that is a problem, tell us early and we will work it out with you.
Results and grading
Marked by external examiners appointed by NEBOSH. Results for assessments taken in English are usually with you within 60 working days of the examination date.
Ways to learn
How you can take this course
Every route covers the same accredited syllabus and the same support. Pick the one that fits how your people work.
Classroom
Tutor-led at one of our centres, with everything provided.
Ask us to open a classroom date →or ask MB nowLive online
The same tutor and the same timetable, joined from anywhere.
Ask us to open a live online date →or ask MB nowAlso available
In-company training
We run this one to order, at your place or ours.
Onsite / in-company
Run NEBOSH IGC at your site
We deliver anywhere in the UK, on your dates and around your shift patterns. For six or more people it is usually cheaper per head than sending everyone to a centre, and nobody loses a day travelling.
Tell us roughly how many people and when, and we will come back with options and a price, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
What onsite includes
- The same tutor, materials and certification as our centres
- Your venue or one we arrange near you
- Dates and start times built around your operation
- One invoice and one point of contact for the whole group
- Content examples drawn from your own workplace
NEBOSH IGC FAQs
The legal framework, not the level. The National is built on British health and safety law: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, the Management Regulations and the UK enforcement regime. The International is built on international standards and ILO conventions instead. They sit at the same level, take about the same time, and employers treat them as equivalent. Take the National if the workplaces you are responsible for are in Great Britain, and the International if they are not.
NEBOSH offer the International General Certificate in several languages including Arabic, French, Spanish (European), Portuguese (European), Russian and Turkish. Language options are not available at every sitting. If you need a sitting in a language other than English, ask us before you book and we will check what is scheduled.
NEBOSH set a minimum of 63 taught hours, plus around 40 hours of private study. We run it over a block or spread across weeks, live online or in a classroom. A fast track route can be completed in ten working days, which suits people who want it done in one go rather than around a job.
Yes, for GIC2. The practical risk assessment has to be carried out somewhere real. If you are between jobs or your workplace is difficult, tell us at the enquiry stage rather than the week before, because there are usually ways round it.
That is the point of it. NEBOSH qualifications are recognised by employers in over 130 countries, and the International General Certificate is the one written for work outside the British legal system. It also sits in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework at Level 6 with 11 credit points, and aligns with Level 4 of Abu Dhabi's Qudorat framework.
Affiliate membership of IOSH (AIOSH), and Technical membership (Tech IOSH) once you have the experience to go with it. It also entitles you to Associate membership of IIRSM (AIIRSM).
For assessments taken in English, NEBOSH usually return results within 60 working days of the examination date. They are marked by external examiners appointed by NEBOSH rather than by us.
Most people either specialise, taking a Certificate in fire, construction or environmental management, or go on to the NEBOSH Diploma, which is the qualification behind Chartered membership of IOSH.
Yes, and plenty of people do, usually because they look after operations overseas or work for a business with international sites. If all your workplaces are in Great Britain, the National General Certificate is the better fit.
Acadame are an ELCAS approved provider and NEBOSH qualifications are eligible, so service leavers and veterans can use their credits towards it. Tell us when you enquire and we will set the paperwork up with you.
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