National Occupational Standards
National Occupational Standards (NOS) provide benchmarks for competent performance. The content is led by demand and based on evidence from industry. The NOS underpin vocational training, apprenticeship frameworks and qualifications across the UK, in all sectors and occupations. CITB develops and maintains these standards for the construction industry.
See a list of the occupational areas that CITB works on
You can use these National Occupational Standards 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.
The standards are compiled in 'suites' under occupational areas and can be viewed individually on the National Occupational Standards database.
National Occupational Standards under review
The suites in development in 2025-2026 are:

If you would like to be involved or contribute to the updating of these suites of NOS please forward any comments/suggestions to standards.qualifications@citb.co.uk.