Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Busnes@LlandrilloMenai logosColeg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Busnes@LlandrilloMenai logos

Gwynedd Health and Safety Construction Student Awarded Best in UK

Centre for Infrastructure, Skills & Technology (CIST) - Busnes@LlandrilloMenai along with NEBOSH delivery partner Delyn Safety UK Ltd are delighted to announce that Tesni James has been awarded The Ian Whittingham Award for the Best Candidate in the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management for Construction (UK).

Tesni achieved the award after gaining 93% in the exam, the highest score in the UK for the year.

Tesni chose to complete the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management Construction (UK) qualification due to her interest in health and safety and the high-risk nature of working within the construction industry. As a Director at Tom James Construction Services Ltd, the family business, along with her husband, people’s health and wellbeing has always been important to Tesni.

Tesni explains: “Staff wellbeing is of the highest importance to us and ensuring that we are doing everything that we can to promote safety in the workplace and that employees go home each day safely to their families. Being able to complete this standard of health and safety training over the last two years has made it possible for me to further develop and become competent in managing the health and safety side of the business.

“We as a company, are accredited with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. We have a great team and I think that positive health and safety culture starts from management’s positive attitude. I am always eager to learn and very keen on employee’s development through training, gaining experience to become competent in all roles.”

Tesni applied for the NEBOSH course using the Personal Learning Account (PLA), a programme funded by Welsh Government which allows those who meet the criteria to access free courses and professional qualifications that develop skills and help individuals progress in their career. Access to PLA funding gave Tesni the confidence to leave her previous work as a Social Worker to work full-time in the family business and develop her career within the Construction industry.

On asking how it felt to win the award Tesni said: “It feels amazing! I didn’t believe the news that I was the highest achiever when I first read the email. Coming from a small town and running a small family business, it feels unreal. I am so proud; I am a true believer that if you put the time, effort and learning into anything, you can achieve your goal.

“I must admit, it also felt great being a woman winning the Award for the best candidate in the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management in Construction Certificate, as it is well documented that it is only between 11-15% of women currently working within the construction industry, and I have now added to that statistic.”

Tesni added: “The flexibility with studying the courses online has been great for me living in a rural area, I could complete full days of training, weekly online from home. The information learned through the course was really interesting, and it is always good reflecting on good and bad practice and discovering new and different ways of completing construction work. I have had the pleasure of meeting several Delyn Safety Trainers who have supported me in completing my courses and I am eager to continue with my studies and continue to make health and safety a positive priority in our business with our great team.”

Tesni has now progressed to studying the NEBOSH Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals with Delyn Safety UK Ltd and also has the NEBOSH Environmental Certificate in her sights as the company is also concentrating on reducing carbon emissions.

Mike Joy, Delyn Safety UK Ltd Managing Director said of Tesni’s success, “Everyone at Delyn Safety is extremely proud of Tesni. She thoroughly deserves this accolade following the amount of time and effort that she puts into her study. It is a pleasure to watch Tesni’s journey and to see how much she cares about the health and safety of her employees.”

Gareth Hughes, Centre Manager CIST & Innovation added: “Tesni is an inspiration to all. It is fantastic to see that the Personal Learning Account has been utilised to support Tesni through her journey in the construction sector and look forward to supporting her in the future.

If you are interested in undertaking a NEBOSH qualification, then you can find out more at www.gllm.ac.uk/personal-learning-account including details of applying for PLA.

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