Helping people to feel safe and secure at work

My Middlesex journey

When I first started looking into postgraduate courses in occupational health and safety, I attended an open day at Middlesex University. I immediately felt comfortable there, and when I looked more closely at the course, I felt that it went deeper into occupational health and safety than anything I had come across during my previous studies.

The admissions process also made a strong impression on me. The team were very helpful from the beginning, helping me understand what documents I needed and looking at different options with me. I felt listened to and supported, which made me feel confident about choosing Middlesex.

At the time, I was already working full-time as Assistant Manager at Pret A Manger. I was seeing health and safety from an operational perspective every day, but I wanted to understand it at a deeper level. I wanted to understand not just what the rules and procedures were, but why they existed and what was behind them.

Bringing my own experience to classes

One of the things I really appreciated about the course was being able to bring our own experiences and ideas into discussions. We were encouraged to share our thoughts, look at different scenarios and consider how we would approach different situations. I found that very valuable because everyone came from different backgrounds, so there was always something to learn from other people's experiences.

The support from the tutors and the wider university team was also very important to me. They were approachable and understanding, including when students were dealing with personal difficulties. I felt that I could ask questions, share an idea or say when I wasn't sure about something without feeling afraid of getting it wrong.

A change in perspective

Over time, the course changed the way I looked at health and safety. I realised that I didn't want to simply follow or enforce rules and procedures. I wanted to understand what was behind them and be involved in the process of making workplaces safer.

For me, communication and training are a big part of that. If you tell someone, "You need to do this because it's the procedure," they might follow it, but they don't necessarily understand why. I became much more interested in explaining the reasons behind processes, communicating directly with people and helping them understand how their actions contribute to keeping themselves and their colleagues safe.

Real world opportunities

The dissertation was another important part of that journey. I had the opportunity to work with Freightliner and look at fatigue planning and operational safety in rail freight. Being able to speak to people working in that environment and see the issues in practice was an amazing experience.

What I found particularly interesting was that, although rail freight and retail are very different industries, many of the underlying health and safety concerns are similar. The risks and working environments can be completely different, but ultimately you are dealing with people, and the aim is to make sure those people can work safely. That experience helped me understand that many of the principles I was learning could be applied across different industries.

The MSc also helped me confirm that health and safety is the direction I want to take my career. It didn't immediately mean that I moved into an H and S role — I'm still an Assistant Manager at Pret A Manger — but it gave me a much clearer idea of where I want to go next and how my existing management experience can connect with health and safety.

Balancing work and studies

Balancing full-time work with full-time study was definitely not easy. There was a period when the pressure of trying to manage both became particularly challenging, and I had to take some time away from work. It was a difficult period, but the support I received from Middlesex was really important in helping me continue with the course and ultimately finish something that I had wanted to achieve for a very long time.

That experience also made me appreciate how important support can be when someone is struggling, both personally and professionally. It is something that has stayed with me and has influenced how I think about health, safety and wellbeing at work.

Looking back, I think the experience also reinforced something that is very important to me about health and safety: it isn't only about compliance. It is about people. It is about helping people feel safe and secure at work and making sure they know that their wellbeing matters, not just because there is a legal requirement, but because there are people who genuinely care about them.

Advice for others

If I could give advice to someone considering the course, I would say: don't be afraid to bring your own experience and your own ideas. Ask questions, even when you're not sure, and be open to hearing different perspectives. For me, Middlesex was a place where I could learn, challenge my thinking and develop my understanding without feeling afraid to speak.

I'm still at the beginning of my transition into health and safety, and I know there is still a lot for me to learn. But the MSc helped me understand what I want to do, why I want to do it, and the kind of approach I want to take with people in the workplace. For me, that was probably the most important thing I took away from my time at Middlesex.

Find out more about the MSc in Strategic Leadership in Occupational Safety and Health at Middlesex University.