Book NEBOSH General Certificate with live availability across the UK. Delivered by accredited providers, with transparent pricing and instant confirmation.
The NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety is the most widely held health and safety qualification in the UK and the standard route into a dedicated health and safety role. It is taught over roughly two weeks, which providers deliver as a block, on day release or online, followed by the assessments.
The certificate is made up of two units. Unit NG1, the management of health and safety, is assessed by a four-hour open-book examination followed by a short closing interview that confirms the work is your own. Unit NG2 is a practical risk assessment that you carry out in your own workplace. Your overall grade is taken from NG1, and you also need to pass NG2.
It goes well beyond the management-level IOSH Managing Safely course, giving the depth an employer expects from a health and safety officer, adviser or manager. Passing it makes you eligible for Affiliate membership of IOSH, and it meets the academic requirement for Technical membership (Tech IOSH) once you have the experience IOSH asks for.
For people working specifically in construction, the NEBOSH Construction Certificate applies the same principles to construction sites and the CDM 2015 regulations. Many professionals start with the General Certificate, then progress towards chartered status through the NEBOSH Diploma or the competence-based Level 6 NVQ in Occupational Health and Safety Practice.
The certificate is awarded by NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health, and does not expire.
The General Certificate is also available as a NEBOSH General evening course for those who cannot take time off during the working day. Professionals who want to broaden into related fields can consider the NEBOSH Environmental Management Certificate or, for fire specific expertise, the NEBOSH Fire Certificate.
Plan for around two weeks of teaching plus private study, then the assessments. Providers deliver the taught content as a two-week block, as day release spread over several weeks, online, or through the evening course for people who cannot leave the day job. NEBOSH qualifications are a step up in depth from short-course certificates: there is a syllabus to learn, not just days to attend, and the people who do well treat the private study as part of the course rather than an optional extra.
Unit NG1 is a four-hour open-book examination taken remotely: you get a realistic workplace scenario and apply the management syllabus to it, with your notes and materials available. It is followed by a short closing interview with your provider, which confirms the work is your own. Unit NG2 is a practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace, normally your own: you identify hazards across a site or premises, assess them using the method taught, and produce the kind of risk assessment a professional would stand behind. Your grade comes from NG1; NG2 is marked as pass or refer, and each unit can be resat separately if needed.
The block format suits people who can clear two weeks and want the qualification quickly. Day release spreads the load and lets you apply each week's material at work between sessions. Online delivery, live or self-paced, removes travel entirely, and the evening course trades speed for zero disruption to the working day. The NEBOSH assessments and the qualification are identical whichever route you take; pick the one your diary will actually survive. Live dates and prices are at the top of this page.
The price against each date at the top of this page is the full cost of a place, including tuition, materials and the NEBOSH registration and examination fees at most venues. Many delegates are funded by their employer, since the certificate is the recognised baseline for anyone given real health and safety responsibility; employers booking one or more places can use our employer booking service for quotes and purchase orders. CITB-registered construction employers should also check the current CITB grant scheme, as NEBOSH qualifications have attracted grant support in recent scheme years.
The General Certificate is the qualification most UK job adverts mean when they ask for "NEBOSH qualified". It is the accepted entry ticket to health and safety officer, coordinator and adviser roles across every sector, and within existing jobs it is what turns "the person who looks after safety" into a recognised competence. It sits at Level 3 on the national framework, roughly A-level standard, and from there the ladder runs through Tech IOSH membership, the Construction Certificate for site specialisation, and on to the NEBOSH Diploma or the Level 6 NVQ in Occupational Health and Safety Practice for chartered status.
