# Construction Safety Officers



## kentiwi84 (Jan 1, 2011)

Hi everyone, im 26 and just moved here to be with my wife from OZ i hold a NZ passport and my profession is Construction (interior&exterior linnings Subcontractor) 10+ years and Safety Officer for 3years. Now i know the Construction trade here is a Joke for boots and helmets but not the same for suits and ties (if ya get my riddle), so what would my chances be for getting a decent job as a Safety officer or supervisor in the UAE, i hold no degree (never needed one) but am cert to be a safety officer in the uae and have years of experience in construction,hospitality also what are the likely hood of me starting a interior linnings business up here? do trade contractors get paid enough or do the builders just hire rappits and pay em grass? any help would be amazing.. thanks
Norm 

p.s does anyone play rugby here as well and if so know any team looking for a play from OZ/NZ thanks


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## kennyjr (Dec 23, 2010)

If you have a NEBOSH IGC, then you'll be getting minimum 15k as safety officer. Especially if you got knowledge of OHSAS 18001. With your 3yrs exp and 10+ construction exp in NZ, you'll definitely land a good deal.It goes up and up with the experience. Unfortunately,civil construction has no job security anymore. Oil and gas is the real deal.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I would advise that you contact local contractors/ developers with regards to safety officer jobs. Safety officers do tend to be predominantly Indians though (just been doing a few site visits and have not met one safety officer who was not Indian and in fairness to them, some of them are pretty sharp!). That said, it does not mean that there are no Western officers out there; I'm sure there are but quite likely, they are in the minority. I actually met an English foreman today and was quite shocked to see him out there!

Clients also employ safety officers to audit the Contractors and ensure that they are complying with local regulations and site requirements.

In order to set up your own business, you will need a local sponsor, particularly as you will be classed as a contractor and hence would not be able to set up your business in the free zone. Your choice of sponsor will ultimately affect the amount of work that you get. A powerful local as a sponsor will be able to pull some strings and get you on tender lists, etc. The issue with being a subcontractor is that oftentimes, you are forced to accept unfavourable terms and suffer from a lack of cashflow, which will impact significantly on your business. As an example, the main contractor may have a certain payment terms included in his contract; it is quite unlikely that he will set up a back-to-back contract with your company and will most likely force you to accept a 'pay when paid' clause - impacts on your cashflow if he is paid late or chooses not to pay (Client will only interfere if you are a nominated subcontractor, otherwise you are on your own!).

Good luck with the job hunt.


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## kentiwi84 (Jan 1, 2011)

Thanks for your input and advise, may i ask what line of work you are in?

Also on the same subject will a subcontractor be paid a higher rate then just normal working trademan and if so is it dramatic, or does similar slave rates apply nomatter what angle you take the job on.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

kentiwi84 said:


> Thanks for your input and advise, may i ask what line of work you are in?
> 
> Also on the same subject will a subcontractor be paid a higher rate then just normal working trademan and if so is it dramatic, or does similar slave rates apply nomatter what angle you take the job on.


I work in Construction - Client side QS. The rates would really depend on whether you are running a business, in which case you set the rates, or whether you are an employee, in which case, you are paid according to your passport (westerners typically earn more!), qualification and experience.

I would personally recommend that you start off as an employee and build up your contacts before venturing out on your own. This will give you a chance as well to understand the sponsorship system and identify a sponsor who will bring some benefit to your business. This market is incredibly hard to break into and without some local experience and a powerful local behind you, the odds would be heavily against you. Clients are continuously increasing the requirements for Contractors to tender for and work on their Projects - being on the ground will give you a better understanding on what's required and the steps that you could take to make sure that your company is considered to tender for works and also actually win some contracts. A lot of successful businessmen actually started off that way, where they were previously employed and then broke away to form their own company.

With the current state of the market, you also do not want to pour money into a business without being absolutely sure that you will succeed. There are too many companies that simply did not survive the recession and you certainly do not want to pour money into something that might fail.

On the plus side, people are paid according to the passport that they carry, so as a Westerner, you can expect to get paid a bit more than and benefit from the extra income whilst you decide what to do next.


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## kentiwi84 (Jan 1, 2011)

Thanks again for the advice...


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## Barry2010 (Dec 21, 2010)

I'm a H&S consultant about to start a role in Dubai later this month. Has anybody had any dealings with whatever equivalent (if any) UAE has to inspectors (HSE)?


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