The ICertOH certification enhances my authority and ability to investigate, measure and advise on how to respond to hazardous activity. Fundamentally, I believe having Iraqi staff members with this qualification will contribute to reducing hazards at Rumaila.

Although I am the first Iraqi in Iraq to achieve this certificate, I’m very pleased that other staff members within Rumaila will soon follow me. It has been the long-term plan of my manager from the outset to have an Iraqi team trained and certified in industrial hygiene. For me, this is another good example of the benefit of working with international companies.

It took me three years to complete the required six internationally recognized modules to attain the certificate. I had to complete four core modules and two optional ones; three of which were completed in the UK and the other three here in Iraq.

I also had to submit three reports and a personal learning portfolio based on my experiences that I’d encountered in my career and to demonstrate that I had three years technical proficiency in the field. This was a prerequisite for taking the final step, an oral exam for the examination panel based in the UK. After that I finally got my results!

Finding out that I had achieved the certificate was an incredible moment. It felt like I was finally harvesting something I had sown a very long time ago!