& 
NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety
The NEBOSH General Certificate is the qualification employers mean when they say they want somebody NEBOSH qualified. Two units, no entry requirements, built on British health and safety law, and delivered by a Gold NEBOSH Learning Partner with a named advisor for every candidate.
Why candidates choose Acadame
What makes our NEBOSH General Certificate different
About this course
The NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety is the benchmark certificate level qualification for managing health and safety in a UK workplace. It is the one named in most health and safety job adverts, the one procurement frameworks and insurers use as a competence benchmark, and the one people take when they want a career in health and safety rather than a certificate for a file.
It assumes nothing. There are no entry requirements and no previous health and safety qualifications are needed. What it gives you is a broad, practical understanding of how health and safety is actually managed: identifying hazards, assessing risk, choosing controls that hold, investigating what went wrong, and measuring whether any of it is working.
It is two units. GNC1 is an open book assessment built on a realistic workplace scenario, followed by a closing interview about what you submitted. GNC2 is a practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace. Both are set and marked by NEBOSH, and both are graded Pass, Credit or Distinction rather than simply passed.
Acadame is a Gold NEBOSH Learning Partner, which is the top learning partner tier and is assessed by NEBOSH rather than claimed. Every candidate gets a named Individual Learning Advisor and access to our own eLearning portal between sessions. Candidates tell us that is the part that made the difference at assessment, which is why we build the course around it rather than around the taught days alone.
We run it at our centres in Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Manchester and Liverpool, live online from the UK, and onsite for employers anywhere in the country. It suits construction, manufacturing, logistics, engineering, offices, education, healthcare, warehousing and the public sector, which is close to saying it suits everybody, and it does.
- Why managing health and safety matters morally, legally and financially, and what the business case really looks like
- The UK legal framework: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- How a health and safety management system is structured, and how to plan, organise, control, monitor and review
- Managing risk through people and process: human factors, supervision, procedures and safe systems of work
- Carrying out a risk assessment that is suitable and sufficient, and writing the action plan that follows it
- The common workplace hazards, physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial, and the controls for each
- Investigating incidents to find the cause rather than the culprit
- Monitoring and measuring performance, with leading indicators as well as accident counts
How completing this course helps you
- The NEBOSH National General Certificate, graded Pass, Credit or Distinction
- The qualification most UK health and safety job adverts ask for by name
- Support for applications to Tech IOSH and AIIRSM
- Recognition as an appropriate qualification for an appointed competent person under the Management Regulations 1999
- A practical risk assessment capability that is tested in a real workplace, not a classroom
- The entry point to the NEBOSH National Diploma, the qualification behind Chartered membership of IOSH
Who should attend?
Managers, supervisors and team leaders responsible for the health and safety of their people. Business owners who want a recognised qualification behind their legal duties. Aspiring health and safety professionals taking the recognised entry level qualification in the field. Experienced workers formalising what they already know. Service leavers and veterans using ELCAS funding to move into civilian health and safety roles.
Entry requirements. None. NEBOSH set no formal entry requirements and no previous health and safety qualification is needed. NEBOSH do recommend a reasonable standard of English, because both assessments require written responses. You also need access to a real workplace for GNC2, and if that is a problem, tell us at enquiry rather than the week before.
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 about the law where the work happens rather than where you live. The two qualifications sit at the same level and employers treat them as equals.
If the workplaces you are responsible for are in Great Britain, this is the one. 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, the International General Certificate fits better. Same structure, same two units, but built on international standards and ILO conventions instead. If you genuinely straddle both, ring us and we will talk it through rather than selling you the longer route.
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.
After either one
Specialise with a Certificate in fire, construction or terrorism protection, or go on to the NEBOSH National Diploma.
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, morally, legally and financially
- How health and safety management systems work and what a good one looks like
- Managing risk: understanding people and processes
- Health and safety monitoring and measuring
- Assessed by an open book examination, followed by a closing interview
Risk assessment
- A practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace
- Identifying hazards and judging what is likely
- Choosing and justifying control measures
- Producing an action plan that somebody could act on
- Submitted to NEBOSH and marked externally
Method of assessment
How the NEBOSH General Certificate is assessed
Three stages. NEBOSH set and mark all of them, and every stage is supported by your named Individual Learning Advisor and the portal.
GNC1: open book examination
A scenario based open book assessment completed over a set period. The open book format is not the soft option people expect: it tests whether you can apply knowledge to a realistic workplace situation rather than whether you memorised it.
Closing interview
A short interview after the open book assessment. It confirms the work is yours and gives you the chance to talk through your submission. Your advisor prepares you for it.
GNC2: practical risk assessment
A risk assessment carried out in a real workplace, with an action plan, submitted independently for marking. You need access to a workplace to do it.
Grading
Pass, Credit or Distinction across both units. That is one of the real differences between the General Certificate and the Award level NEBOSH qualifications, which are Pass or Refer only.
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.
Dates and locations
Pick a date
Live availability from our booking system. Prices exclude VAT.
No dates match that filter. Ask us for one.
Can't see a date that works? Request one - we add dates most weeks.
Also available
In-company training
We run this one to order, at your place or ours.
Onsite / in-company
Run NEBOSH General Certificate 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 General Certificate FAQs
It is the benchmark certificate level qualification for managing workplace health and safety in the UK. It covers health and safety management principles, risk assessment, workplace hazards and incident investigation, and it is assessed by an open book examination, a closing interview and a practical workplace risk assessment. It is widely recognised across every sector and commonly specified in health and safety job descriptions.
They are the same qualification at the same level, sat over the same number of days, and employers treat them as equivalent. The difference is the legal framework. The National is built on UK law, so the Health and Safety at Work etc Act and the regulations underneath it. The International is built on ILO conventions and international standards instead, because it is written for people whose work is not governed by UK law. If you work in the UK, take the National. If you work abroad, or you are managing safety across sites in more than one country, take the International General Certificate.
NEBOSH set it at roughly 80 to 130 guided learning hours depending on your prior knowledge and the study route you choose. That covers taught sessions, self study and preparation for both assessments. Classroom, live online and blended routes take different amounts of elapsed time, so tell us how quickly you need it and we will fit a route to that.
Two units. GNC1 is an open book assessment over a set period followed by a closing interview. GNC2 is a practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace and submitted for external marking. Both are graded Pass, Credit or Distinction, unlike the Award level NEBOSH qualifications which are Pass or Refer only.
Yes. We run it live online as well as in the classroom, and blended where that suits better. The support does not change with the format: live online candidates get the same named Individual Learning Advisor and the same eLearning portal as people in the room.
Yes, for GNC2. The practical risk assessment has to be carried out somewhere real. If you are between jobs, or your workplace is awkward for it, say so at the enquiry stage. There are usually ways round it and they all work better with notice.
You resit that unit only. GNC1 is £165 plus VAT and GNC2 is £125 plus VAT. Course dates include registration for both assessments, so a resit is the only additional cost and you only pay for what you are retaking.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require an employer to appoint one or more competent persons to help them meet their duties, a competent person being somebody with sufficient training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to do so. The NEBOSH National General Certificate is one of the most widely recognised qualifications for that role and plenty of organisations specify it as the minimum for their appointed competent person.
No, it has no expiry date. Continuing professional development is strongly recommended though, because legislation and good practice move, and most employers and professional bodies expect certificate holders to keep current as part of demonstrating ongoing competence.
Most people either specialise or go up a level. Specialising means a Certificate in fire safety, construction, or protecting premises from terrorism. Going up means the NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, which is the qualification behind Chartered membership of IOSH.
It supports applications for Technical membership of IOSH (Tech IOSH) with the relevant experience, and Associate membership of IIRSM (AIIRSM).
Yes. Gold is the top NEBOSH learning partner tier and it is awarded by NEBOSH against their own criteria for delivery, support and learner experience. It is not a self declared badge.
A named Individual Learning Advisor and our embedded eLearning portal. The advisor plans 1:1 sessions around the assessment points, reviews your progress and prepares you for submission. The portal carries structured revision and study material you can use in your own time.
Yes. Acadame is an ELCAS approved provider and NEBOSH qualifications are eligible, so Enhanced Learning Credits can be put towards the course. Mention it when you enquire and we will handle the paperwork with you rather than sending you away to work it out.
Our centres in Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Manchester and Liverpool, live online from the UK, and onsite at employers’ own premises nationwide. Through our partner network we can also open up local options where none of those suit.
From the blog
Course guides and news
The latest plain-English guides to choosing the right course, card or qualification.
Training for a team?
One contact for all your workforce training
Book this course for a group at your site or ours, roll it into a managed training plan and let us handle the scheduling, certificates and renewals.