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Leading Safely

A strategic course for senior leaders

Type
In-person, Online, Hybrid
Male factory manager training new female colleagues

Turning safety and health leadership into business advantage

Improve organisational performance, strengthen culture and create lasting business value through effective safety and health leadership.

IOSH Leading Safely® is an interactive course designed for senior leaders and decision-makers. It helps you understand how effective safety and health leadership can improve productivity, profitability, reputation and business resilience.

Why choose Leading Safely?

Leading Safely takes a business-focused approach to safety and health. Rather than concentrating on operational safety management, it helps senior leaders understand how safety and health contribute directly to organisational performance, reputation and long-term success.

Designed and quality-assured by IOSH, the course was developed in conjunction with business leaders to ensure the content is relevant to strategic decision-makers. It demonstrates how strong leadership can influence organisational culture and deliver measurable business outcomes.

A key feature of the course is the opportunity to benchmark your organisation's current approach against globally recognised examples of good practice. Delegates explore how leading organisations achieve excellence in safety and health and identify practical steps to strengthen their own approach.

Leading Safely goes beyond awareness. It helps leaders shape a clear vision for safety and health, establish priorities for improvement and create action plans that support sustainable business performance.

Who is it for?

  • Senior leaders and executives

    If you influence organisational direction, strategy or culture, this course provides the knowledge needed to make safety and health a driver of business success.

    • Chief executives and managing directors
    • Board members
    • Senior managers
    • Directors and business owners
    • Organisational leaders responsible for strategy and governance
    • Leaders seeking to strengthen organisational culture and performance

  • Organisations of all sizes

    Organisations looking to strengthen leadership capability and improve business performance through better safety and health management.

    • Build a stronger organisational culture from the top down
    • Improve business continuity and resilience
    • Support long-term productivity and profitability
    • Demonstrate commitment to employees, clients and stakeholders
    • Create clear organisational safety and health objectives

IOSH also offers additional courses to suit different roles and responsibilities, including Working Safely® for employees across all sectors and Managing Safely® for managers and supervisors.

What does the course cover?

Safety and health leadership
Understand the strategic importance of safety and health and how leadership influences organisational performance, culture and outcomes.

Leadership responsibilities and behaviours
Explore the responsibilities of senior leaders and the behaviours that support successful safety and health management.

What effective leadership looks like
Learn how leading organisations create positive safety and health cultures and embed good practice throughout their operations.

Benchmarking against best practice
Compare your organisation's performance with recognised examples of good practice from around the world and identify opportunities for improvement.

Shaping vision and priorities
Develop a clearer vision for safety and health and identify the actions needed to achieve your organisation's objectives.

Driving improvement
Discover practical approaches that leaders can use to influence change, improve performance and deliver lasting business benefits.

  • Key benefits

    What will you or your organisation get from Leading Safely?

    • Stronger leadership – build the knowledge and confidence to lead safety and health more effectively.
    • Better business performance – improve productivity, profitability and business continuity through effective leadership.
    • Clearer strategic direction – benchmark your organisation against good practice and identify practical actions for improvement.
    • Enhanced culture and reputation – strengthen organisational culture while building trust with employees, clients and partners.

Booking process

  1. Find a training provider using our database

    Use our searchable database to quickly find an approved training provider that meets your needs, wherever you are.

  2. Contact them with details of your needs

    Both your desired outcomes and objectives, and any other needs or requirements. For business, this also includes team size.

  3. Get a quote

    Cost varies depending on your training provider, your location and any customisation to your business needs.

  4. Book on the course

    Find a course with an approved provider, or contact us to discuss options for your team.

Course details

  • Duration – Approximately five hours
  • Cost – Varies by training provider, so use our finder to get quotes
  • How it’s delivered – In-person, online and hybrid options are available through approved providers
  • Where – Delivered worldwide through IOSH's network of approved training providers
  • Certification – Successful delegates receive an IOSH Leading Safely certificate, which you can verify online with IOSH
  • Additional resources – Delegates gain access to a diagnostic tool, action planner and safety leadership community

Over 33,000 certificates issued in the past 10 years, helping senior leaders embed safety into business strategy.

IOSH insight survey 2025

Frequently asked questions

  • Leading Safely is designed for anyone in a senior management or leadership role who influences organisational direction, strategy or culture.

  • No. The course is designed for senior leaders and focuses on strategic leadership rather than technical safety expertise.

  • Cost varies depending on your training provider, your location and any customisation to your business needs. Use our training provider finder to find an approved provider. Contact them directly to get a quote and discuss what you need.

  • Use our training provider finder to see approved providers in your area. You can see where they are based and what courses they deliver. Contact the training provider directly to ask about their delivery approach and get quotes.

  • Our training providers can deliver flexible programmes tailored to your business context and sector. When you contact a provider, discuss your specific needs and they can advise on custom options.

  • Some courses may also be available in other selected languages. Please check directly with your chosen training provider for availability.

  • The course is delivered in a flexible session lasting approximately five hours.

  • Yes, Leading Safely is recognised for continuing professional development (CPD). Check your professional body’s specific requirements, but many members use this course to evidence their CPD commitments.

  • Leading Safely focuses on organisational leadership, culture and business performance. It helps leaders understand how effective safety and health practices contribute to productivity, profitability and reputation.

  • Delegates use a diagnostic tool to evaluate their current position and develop a personal action plan for improvement.

  • Delegates receive access to a diagnostic tool, an action planner and a safety leadership community that provides ongoing discussions and updates.

  • All genuine IOSH training certificates can be verified using the IOSH online certificate verification service.

  • Yes. Organisations can arrange Leading Safely training for teams of all sizes through approved IOSH training providers. To discuss training options for your business, please contact the IOSH for business team via the IOSH for business contact page.

Online certificate verification with proven quality

All our Leading Safely course certificates can be checked as genuine using our online certificate verifier.

Success stories

  • South Western Ambulance Service
  • Briggs Equipment UK
  • University of Huddersfield

Related courses

  • Managing Safely
  • Working Safely
  • Fire safety for managers

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