Allan
St. John Holt
Class of 1997
Background:
Allan St. John Holt was born in 1943 in Southampton, England.
The only child of the late Freda and Edwon St. John Holt,
he acquired an early interest in travel and safety when he
accompanied his parents to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1947
where his father, a former Royal Navy Commander, worked as
a clearance diver surveying the docks in Colombo harbor. On
their return to England, he completed his secondary education
at King Edward VI School, Southampton. He graduated in 1967
from the University of East Anglia, receiving a BA Honors
degree in social studies.
Professional
Experience:
Following graduation he joined the United Kingdom's first
professional health and safety consultancy, which his father
had established in 1962. Qualifying in 1970 examination, he
gained membership to the Institution of Industrial Safety
Officers, the forerunner of IOSH-The Institution of Occupational
Safety and Health. Mr. Holt was a co-founder of the South
Coast Branch of the Institution and served as a member tutor
between 1973 and 1977. In 1976 he was first elected to the
Council of the Institution, and has since held every elected
office. He was nominated a Fellow in 1980, and is the only
person to have been elected as its president for two non-consecutive
terms of office. As a leading consultant, Mr. Holt has lectured
internationally on safety management topics, and advised clients
in many industries and countries, including overseas Governments
and the British Museum. He has taught courses at several universities.
Mr. Holt's assignments have included teaching system safety
concepts in the Philippines, devising a safety standard for
bamboo scaffolding, and most recently acting as technical
adviser to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense 4C Safety
Management project, which is tasked to devise a common management
program for all armed forces and defense establishments.
Career
Highlights:
Mr. Holt founded the National Examination Board in Occupational
Safety and Health in 1979, which unified the arrangements
for professional training and examination. The Board received
the backing of the Government and industry, and currently
provides examination recognition of thousands of aspiring
professionals each year. He also pioneered the development
of courses for management backed by the Institution, and wrote
the best-selling test "Principles of Health and Safety
at Work" and other distance-learning aids for industry
bodies. Much of this material has been translated for use
in other countries. He has written or contributed to five
books, and more than 50 professional papers. Appointed an
Ambassador of Veterans of Safety International, he has also
been an active member of the National Safety Council's Construction
Section since 1980 and became the first non-American to be
elected Chairman of the Section in 1990. He served for seven
years on the Executive Board of the International Federation
of Associations of Specialists in Industrial Safety and Occupational
Health. Mr. Holt has traveled the world with the message that
health and safety is a professional discipline and an international
concern with many common solutions to be shared.
