IOSH
IOSH celebrates 80 years of voluntary effort
“Just helping out”
In April 1945, a number of members of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) met in London. They agreed to form a special group within RoSPA, dedicated to the prevention of industrial accidents. The formation of the Industrial Safety Officers Section was the modest beginning of the present-day Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.
These volunteers were convinced their actions were necessary. Workers, businesses and economies everywhere were trying to recover from the devastating effects of the world war.
Eighty years on, despite major advances, that purpose and voluntary ethic remain undiminished.
Growth and development
IOSH’s journey to the present has taken in various phases of growth and development. In 1953 ISOS gained independence from RoSPA and became the Institution of Industrial Safety Officers. 1980 saw the adoption of the name Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. In the following year, the Institute of Municipal Safety Officers merged with IOSH.
Now with more than 50,000 members in over 130 countries, IOSH is the largest Chartered body for the health and safety profession.
Continuity
One of the constants amid all the change was, of course, the commitment to prevent injury and ill-health at work. Another, perhaps less heralded, strand in IOSH’s success has been the voluntary action of its members.
It was only in 1962 that staff began to be employed on a full-time basis. Up to that point, the Institution had been run on an almost entirely voluntary basis.
Volunteer effort continues to play a major role of the life of the Institution of today. It simply could not function without its members’ dedication and commitment.
IOSH members serve in many different capacities. They give their time in community committees, in peer review panels, in IOSH governing bodies, in its Council and in its Presidential team. They act as mentors to fellow professionals and represent IOSH in external bodies. They advise IOSH on its research priorities and they provide industry insights to inform the Institution’s work.
Volunteers have always been at the heart of IOSH, playing a vital role in our success and in our mission to create a safer and healthier world of work.
Celebrating volunteers
To mark 80 years of IOSH, we’ll be taking the opportunity throughout the coming year to collate and celebrate volunteers’ contribution to IOSH’s history. We will honour the legacy of those who came before us, as we look ahead to how we can shape the world.
We’ll celebrate the many IOSH volunteers who have made, and continue to make, a difference. We’ll publish the stories of their contributions, however large or small, whether local, regional or national, in any industry. We hope that members – past and present – will share their reflections on their volunteering for IOSH over the years.