V1 VR V2.......I agree!
Chartered Health and Safety Practitioners have to go through hell and back to gain the status and that's why they are usually so highly regarded.
I appreciate that experience of dealing with safety issues can make you competent to operator as a Safety Officer (ex amount of flying years, DFO status, TRTO status, Chief Pilot status etc....) but this usually based around the flight safety element and not H&S as a whole.
IMO It would be nice to see the introduction of specific safety qualifications (specifically NEBOSH, minimum IOSH) for safety 'managers' within the aviation industry.
For me to be considered competent in the 'normal' world i am required to have a NEBOSH qualification and a minimum of 3 years relevant experience.
nesboy