Adam Russell: From Doubt to Determination
How Adam Russell found his confidence and advanced his safety career with NEBOSH National General Certificate and Compassa.
A growing interest in keeping people safe
Adam Russell’s passion for health and safety developed over time. Having worked across several industries where safety was present but often overlooked, he started to feel strongly that things could and should be better.
“I have worked in many industries where H&S was present but overlooked and due to this I gradually built more and more of an interest in it and wanting to keep people safe at work. Life is for living, not for working and suffering a work-related injury that hampers your ability to enjoy life.”
That interest evolved into ambition and soon, Adam began searching for the most recognised way to turn that drive into a career.
“The NEBOSH NGC is seen as the industry standard entry level course for a H&S role. There are others out there but the NGC is what will appear on most job adverts and HR departments don’t always understand that equivalents exist.”
A turning point in his career path
Enrolling in the NEBOSH General Certificate with Compassa in early 2023, Adam took on the challenge head-on and even though he didn’t pass NG2 first time, he didn’t let that stop him.
“Since enrolling in the course, I was able to leave my job as an Occupational Hygienist and get my first H&S role with a local council. This role was so varied due to the H&S department covering schools, leisure centres, facilities management, building management, Roads department and more.”
The tools and techniques he learned during the course didn’t just sit in theory he was able to apply them straight away on the job.
“I was able to implement my learnings and found the PDF files I’d got during the course great because if I didn’t know the answer, I could quick reference and see if the PDF could jog my memory or give me an idea of what route I should look at.”
That momentum led him to even bigger opportunities.
“Building upon this role and my personal desire to work in industries where H&S is really put to the test, I saw a job with Police Scotland and applied. I was successful and have just hit 9 months in the role.”
Study that works for real life and real people
Adam appreciated how the course fit around his life and around how he learns best.
“I loved the style of the NGC course. It was not just a slideshow or a PDF. I am dyslexic and I like to see a variation in learning styles as one day, reading a PDF may be fine, other days a video would be better.”
“Compassa’s NGC course has all of this available. The learning platform is easy to log in and work your way through. I could do it on my tablet whilst in a hotel room or on my laptop when settled at a desk in the house.”
The course stood out for its approachability, flexibility, and even its humour.
“I don’t like the generic, old school H&S style that is still prevalent in the industry and this course was great at throwing in movie references and using analogies to explain, rather than ‘memorise this section of the management regs’.”
“Will was always approachable and would be constructive in his replies, sometimes directing you to where you’d find the answer, rather than just spoon feeding. I love this type of learning as in the real world, you are unlikely to know everything but if you know how to find the information quickly, that is just as good.”
“This course really helped… I found that I retained a lot of the information and it was right at the tip of my tongue.”
Confidence, clarity, and continuous progress
For someone who openly shares his struggle with self-confidence, Adam found the course did more than teach — it helped shift how he saw himself.
“I personally struggle with self-confidence in almost every part of my life, I believe it is called inferiority complex, I deem everyone else to be smarter and better than me.”
“This course really helped as due to the learning style, I found that I retained a lot of the information and it was right at the tip of my tongue.”
“The course did boost my belief that H&S was a role for me and something that I enjoyed learning about.”
His success didn’t stop at NEBOSH. Adam went on to complete his NVQ Level 6 and is now studying a Level 6 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment.
“I put my certificates on a wall in my office room, purely for the days where I doubt myself, I can look at what I have achieved and hope that it gives me a little self-confidence boost.”
Adam’s Recommendation
Recommending the course again and again
Adam is quick to recommend the Compassa NEBOSH experience to others. Not just for the content, but for the flexibility, support, and ease of access.
“I have recommended this course already, many times in fact. Why? Because it is enjoyable to do, easy to drop in and out of, not restricted to classroom times and needing time off work.”
“The support from Will and his team is excellent and it really allows you to study in your own time but still know that you have support that you can turn to.”
“Compassa also have their YouTube channel, which contains a lot of valuable information but there is better information in their course!”
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