National Occupational Standards

women reviewing plans

The National Occupational Standards (NOS) that support the construction industry are developed and maintained by ConstructionSkills (Craft) in partnership with Construction Industry Council(CIC) (Technical, Supervisory and Management). UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and Qualifications Panel (UKNQP) approved NOS can be viewed and downloaded at www.ukstandards.co.uk .

National Occupational Standards are used to:

  • describe good practice in particular areas of work
  • set out a statement of competence
  • provide resource for a variety of workforce management and quality control tools
  • offer a framework for training and development
  • form the basis of all qualification frameworks.

Sector Skills Councils and Standards Setting Bodies develop, maintain and update NOS as their sectors change. ConstructionSkills also runs a programme of publicity presentations to provide general support and guidance regarding NOS related work and to encourage feedback. Current NOS projects and incremental change cases may be viewed at NOS Occupations and revisions.

The National Occupational Standards form the basis of Recommended Qualification Structures (RQS) for the construction sector and are developed and agreed by occupational representatives from industry.  Rules of Combination (RoC) and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) are two of the qualifications that have been derived from the RQSs.

The above 'NOS Occupations and revisions' link will take you to all occupational areas where individual RoCs (and RQSs) can be accessed.