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With thousands of athletes representing 72 nations and territories in 19 different sports, and an
estimated global viewing audience of 1.5 billion, staging the XXII Commonwealth Games is no small
task.
Just ask Tor Bennett Williams, who is part of the occupational safety and health (OSH) team which
has spent 12 months preparing for the Games, taking place in Birmingham, UK, from 28 July to 8
August,2022.
For talented runner Tor, this is a dream job combining his passions for athletics and OSH. And he’s
achieved his own ‘gold medal’ in the build-up – IOSH Chartered status.
Getting set for the games
during the countdown to the games, 24-year-old Tor has been looking after non-competition sites.
This includes hotels for competitors and guests, warehouses and transport depots as well as the
athletes’ training venues.
He also has responsibility for training and corporate inductions – making him the ‘face’ of OSH –
along with duties ranging from risk assessments to supporting workers’ wellbeing.
“It’s about looking after the people behind the scenes, and I’ve absolutely loved it. Athletics is
something that’s very personal and close to my heart,” said Tor, who has represented the University
of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club, and Birchfield Harriers at the 400 metres.
Since the commencement of the games, his attention will switch to monitoring, site inspections and providing
guidance if required.
“The hard work will be done by then,” said Tor, who has another reason to be excited – his partner,
Laura Zialor, is competing in the high jump for England.
Team IOSH
While Tor’s been into sports since school, he developed an interest in OSH after graduating in
Environmental Science in summer 2019.
With two graduate offers to choose from, he picked an
environmental health and safety internship with a healthcare company.
“I really enjoyed the health and safety aspect and fell in love with OSH,” said Tor, who took a level 6
diploma and IOSH’s Managing Safely® course to build his skills and qualifications.
He landed a role in health, safety and environmental compliance with a paper manufacturing
company and joined IOSH as an Associate Member. Tor was attracted by the “interactive content
and global credentials” of the Institution, which is also an accredited organisation of the
Commonwealth.
Keen to progress, he moved to Technical and then Graduate level in August 2021.
“I’m always pushing to do other things and thinking how far I can get,” said Wolverhampton-born
Tor, whose next ambition was Chartered Membership.
‘Gold medal’ status
