National Occupational Standards

women reviewing plans

As the Sector Skills Council (SSC) and Standards Setting Body (SSB) for the Construction Industry, ConstructionSkills develops and maintains  a directory of National Occupational Standards (NOS) that support the construction industry. United Kingdom Coordination Group (UKCG)  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 National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) and Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQs).

SSCs and SSBs develop, maintain and update NOS as their sectors change. ConstructionSkills also run a programme of publicity presentations to provide general support and guidance regarding NOS related work and to encourage the use of the feedback.

For further information regarding anything in this article please contact the Standards and Qualifications Manager at nos.enquiry@cskills.org.

 

Current Projects

NOS are developed in partnership with the Construction Industry Council (CIC). ConstructionSkills’ development and review programme 2008:

  • Review/Revision of NOS, Recommended Qualification Structures, Key/Core Skills Signposting and Assessment Strategy for:
    • Highways Maintenance
    • Heritage Skills
    • Steelfixing Occupations
    • Transportation
    • Site Setting Out
  • Develop new NOS, Recommended Qualification Structures, Key/Core Skill Signposting and Assessment Strategy for:
    • Reinforcing Structures with Composite Materials
  • Develop new NOS for:
    • Cosmetic Repair
    • Innovative Methods of Construction

You can feedback using the occupational questionnaires on the current project page.

Incremental Change

There is also a programme of incremental review. This NOS consultation is carried out through a form which allows individuals to raise an incremental change case that will be investigated through industry consultation by one of our developers.