Understanding the 2026 NEBOSH General Certificate Overhaul

The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) has rolled out significant updates to its flagship qualifications: the National and International General Certificates in Occupational Health and Safety. Designed to keep pace with evolving workplace risks, modern teaching practices, and extensive stakeholder feedback, these revisions represent the most substantial shake-up to the qualification framework in years.

For health and safety professionals, employers, and training providers across the UK and Ireland, understanding these changes is vital for maintaining compliance, aligning staff competencies, and ensuring a smooth transition for candidates currently moving through their learning journey.

Key Structural and Assessment Changes

The updated syllabus introduces several distinct changes to how units are named, assessed, and graded. While the core health and safety knowledge required by practitioners remains robust, the administrative and marking processes have been modernised to improve the overall learner experience:

  • Unit Renaming: The previous NG1 and IG1 units are now designated as GNC1 (National) and GIC1 (International), maintaining the familiar 24-hour scenario-based digital assessment format. Meanwhile, NG2 and IG2 become GNC2 and GIC2.
  • Submission via Online Platform: Unit Two practical risk assessments are no longer handled through disparate channels. They must now be submitted directly via the online NEBOSH Assessment Platform within 10 working days of completing the Unit One scenario assessment.
  • Points-Based Marking System: Perhaps the most notable update is the complete removal of the binary "met/not met" grading approach for Unit Two. It has been replaced by a transparent, points-based marking system with a clear 60% pass mark, accompanied by an automatic mark breakdown document for every candidate.
  • Simultaneous Results Release: Addressing long-standing learner feedback regarding waiting times, NEBOSH now releases results for both units on the exact same day—precisely 60 working days following the GNC1/GIC1 assessment.

Transition Timelines and Next Steps for Employers

Teaching for the revised 2025 specification syllabus officially commenced on 2 February 2026, with the first assessments taking place in March 2026. For candidates who began their studies under the older 2018 specification, a transitional grace period has been established. Final assessments for legacy units (NG1/IG1 and NG2/IG2) run until August 2026. Candidates holding uncompleted referral units have until this deadline to clear them under the old criteria before transitioning automatically to the new framework.

Related training: If you are looking to qualify as a trainer in this area, see confined space trainer courses or explore abrasive wheels trainer courses for nationally recognised UK and Ireland qualifications.

Employers investing in workforce competence must ensure that training matrices and continuous professional development (CPD) plans reflect these updated standards. Engaging with accredited training partners is essential to navigate these regulatory shifts successfully.

To find out more about accredited health and safety qualifications, training schedules, and compliance courses tailored to your organisation's requirements, visit Abertay Training at https://www.abertaytraining.co.uk.