NEBOSH leads way with post-COVID remote assessments
15 Jul 2020
NEBOSH – The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is staging its first ‘open book’ remote examination in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its National and International General Certificates will be its first to offer remote assessments . Open book examinations are widely used by awarding bodies and universities and allow learners to take the examination in a safe location of their choosing.
Unlike invigilated paper-based examinations, open book exams will present learners with a real-life scenario followed by a related series of questions that require learners to demonstrate the application of their knowledge.
NEBOSH interim chief executive v commented: “COVID-19 has certainly presented us with some challenges but the changes we’re making will bring us up to speed with the latest awarding technology so that learners can complete their studies and gain the qualification they have worked hard for.
“The health of our learners is paramount. We want them to feel safe when they carry out their NEBOSH assessments and the best way to do this is transform the way we do things.”
He added the organisation had worked closely with its regulator, SQA Accreditation, to maintain the rigour and recognition people have come to expect from NEBOSH over its 40-year history.
The UK-based independent examination board’s courses are taken by an estimated 50,000 candidates annually, offered by more than 600 providers based in 40 countries around the world. In 2014/15 nearly 180,000 NEBOSH assessments were taken by candidates from 132 countries.
NEBOSH said its new approach would enable people in even more countries around the world to study towards and gain a NEBOSH qualification.
