NEBOSH IIRSM Certificate in Managing Risk: Insights from Conor

Conor Brown, MIIRSM, is a Development Manager at HSB Engineering Insurance, who decided to take our NEBOSH IIRSM Certificate in Managing Risk. We recently interviewed Conor to find out more about his career journey, how the qualification has supported him and some advice for anyone considering a career in risk management.

Tell us about your career so far…

My journey started when I joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 16. I wanted to explore the world and learn in a different environment, so I embarked on a cadetship.

However, being at sea for up to nine months at a time made me realise I wanted a more traditional lifestyle. I’ve always been fascinated by risk and compliance, even during my time at sea. I realised that theoretically if you achieve 100% compliance, particularly in technical areas, you can avoid incidents and in particular machinery failures. So, I started pursuing this element as a passion. My first job on land was in manufacturing which was somewhat related but not exactly what I wanted.

I quickly realised that I needed to compliment my experience with recognised qualifications. My maritime qualifications weren’t as widely recognised as I had hoped. I would find myself explaining more about my qualifications than myself or my experience during interviews! So, I earned qualifications like NVQ Level 4’s and even a degree that were seen as more ‘traditional’. This then led me to my current employer.

I work with clients who are facing various risks, such as rising energy costs. Essentially, we analyse every aspect of their operations, assets, supply chain, and both business and operational risks. Then, we build them a bespoke risk profile which is matched with services and solutions through a risk management plan with step-by-step recommendations to support them in managing risks, often taking a strategic approach.

What attracted you to the Nebosh IIRSM qualification?

It looked at an aspect that I hadn’t explored much before – the relationship between decision-making processes and risk management – along with concepts like SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, scenario planning, strategic planning and psychology.

I've always been intrigued by compliance because theoretically being 100% compliant ensures workplace safety, yet many choose not to follow this. I wanted to delve into the psychological aspects of this, including unconscious bias. I particularly enjoyed the Understand the Impact of Psychology on Decision Making module – the aspects around the biases, how they were identified, where they come from and how they influence decisions.

The qualification also covered the principles of risk management. It was primarily aimed at people managing risk within their own organisations and, as a service provider, I’m always thinking about risk in somebody else’s organisation; how can I go in there and understand their risks and control it? So, it was interesting to think about it as if it was my own organisation; how the culture, the communication, the relationship between things like business continuity and the planning aspect of it would all be different.

How have you applied this qualification to your role?

The psychology areas have equipped me to feel more confident in discussing areas such as biases that can influence an organisation’s decision making, the different biases that may exist and how to implement control measures such as having diverse teams with diverse stakeholders involved in decision making. I feel I can now see things better from an organisation’s perspective.

Would you recommend this qualification to others?

Yes definitely. I liked that it was a bite-sized course, but also detailed, high quality and can be done in your own time. I have recommended this certificate to a lot of people who are involved in contingency planning and risk management. I would love to see more courses like this.

Finally, what advice would you give someone who is considering a career in risk management?

I’d say go for it! Nobody I have ever met has gone into risk management decision making from school, so set your stall out early and identify if it’s something you want to do. If you have people managing risk in your organisation or network, talk to them, get a couple of days shadowing people in the role, look at taking qualifications that will give you the base to build on and might help you identify which areas of risk management you enjoy the most, join IIRSM, go to events and webinars. Remember, everyone started somewhere.