Background
The report, Building a Safer Future - Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Final Report (Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng, May, 2018) stated that industry had:
“An existing approach to competence which was fragmented, encompassing a range of disciplines and different competence frameworks even within one discipline and without reference to other interacting disciplines.”
The Building Safety Act (published on 25 July 2022), together with The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment)(England) Regulations 2023, has introduced a new regulatory regime that defines competence as having the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours (SKEB).
This requires all individuals carrying out any design, construction or refurbishment work to be competent to undertake the role to which they are appointed.
ICSG Working Groups
The Competence Steering Group (CSG) was set up to tackle competence shortcomings identified in the 2018 Hackitt Review. The CSG report Setting the Bar – a new competence regime for building a safety future (October, 2020), included recommendations for Installers (pages 54 – 60).
In December 2024, the Industry Competence Steering Group (ICSG) was formally established as a working group under the Industry Competence Committee, one of three committees set up under the Building Safety Act, which reports to the Building Safety Regulator. The purpose of the ICSG and its SLGs is to enable industry access to appropriate competences, so they may safely contribute to the creation and use of built environments and can demonstrate their competence to others. This includes developing industry consensus agreed competence frameworks that can be used to map against all training and qualifications to bring consistency across the sector. Sector Lead Group 10 (SLG10) in the ICSG represents Installation and Maintenance and is leading on competence frameworks and other competence-related challenges within these disciplines.
Since the publication of Setting the Bar – a new competence regime for building a safety future (October, 2020, p.54, Recommendations 243 and 244), the primary focus was Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs). Whilst developing the pilot competence frameworks, the working groups noted that there is very little difference between work carried out in a HRB and a non-HRB. Consequently, SLG10 has focussed on delivering the recommendations that a framework should be adopted for all the installer roles working on in scope buildings.
In 2024, SLG10 scaled up its initial pilot programme into the format on the next page, grouping the work into five workstreams: Envelope, Engineering Services, Interiors, Civils and Structures.
CITB is supporting industry with the creation of the Competence Frameworks for all roles within its scope order. CITB helps facilitate the Sector Group work, standardising the approach, sharing best practice and aligning common functions.
CITB also plays a pivotal role in the implementation activities, supporting future-state planning, and taking a lead on the development of any key products to support the newly defined Competence requirements.
Fire Safety in Buildings
Setting the Bar – a new competence regime for building a safety future (October, 2020, p.54, Recommendation 243), also requires
"All installers [to] have a core knowledge of fire safety in buildings – training to be standardised and made mandatory”
A group of industry stakeholders consulted on the content for a Fire Safety in Buildings training course for all installers to undertake. CITB have funded the creation of the course, and it is now a free-to-access training resource which sits on the eLearning platform on the CITB website.
Competence Frameworks
The Competence Frameworks have been written in line with BS 8670-1:2024 Competence Frameworks for building safety Part 1: Core criteria – Code of practice (published May, 2024, p.10, Competence and Competence Frameworks, 0.3.2 to 0.3.5) which outlines the key components of a Competence Framework.
The Competence Framework consists of the following components:
Recommended Routes to Competence:
This contains 3 routes for a new entrant, someone who has some experience as well as an experienced worker who has much more experience. Identifying the recognised routes to achieving competence.Functional Map:
This shows how a specific role in construction is broken down into different functions: Core Construction Competencies, Core Trade Competencies and Trade Specific Competencies.Core Construction Competencies:
These are the considered the fundamental competencies for most roles within construction. Competencies such as Health & Safety or Manual Handling which enable everyone to work onsite safely.Please note that Core Construction competencies have undergone a format revision and are currently draft versions pending a collective review by industry.
Core Trade Competencies:
These are shared across multiple roles within an occupational family. An example of this might be Safe Working Practices, which are used by both Roof Slaters and also Solar Collector Installers as they both work in the same environment.Trade Specific Competencies:
These are several distinct functions, that when put together define the competence requirements for a role. Use the Knowledge and Skill tabs to show/hide the details within each function.
Competence Framework Key Definitions
BS 8670-1:2024 Defines the key elements of Competence Frameworks as follows:
Competence: application of skills, knowledge, experience and behaviour to achieve a defined outcome
Skills: ability to perform an activity or task consistently with a specific intended outcome
Knowledge: assimilation of facts, theories and practices in relation to a given role, function, activity or task
Experience: participation in relevant activities or observation of facts and events leading to acquisition or improvement of knowledge and skills
Behaviours: observable things that an individual does or does not do
Validation: formal process of assessing an individual’s competence against a sector-specific competence framework
Revalidation: formal process of reassessing an individual’s competence against a sector-specific framework on a periodic basis to check that competence has been maintained