Building Standards

Closing the Workforce Strategy for the Building Standards Verification Service

December 22, 2023 by Simon Moore No Comments | Category Building Standards, Workforce Strategy

The workforce strategy was designed to be delivered over three years from October 2020 and that period has now ended. A formal closure report is published today highlighting the progress achieved and detailing the work that will continue.

The closure report summarises delivery of the strategy actions across five projects with details on specific outcomes and benefits for all building standards verifiers.

The strategy was based on national and local commitments to drive change. These commitments provided clear roles and direction for Scottish Government, Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) and local authority verifiers to work together on delivery of the actions.

This collective approach was key to the success of the strategy. Joint working with academic and skills partners, industry bodies and building standards teams across Scotland ensured that changes implemented through the strategy were based on best practice to meet the needs of verifiers.

The focus on attracting individuals to work in the building standards profession has seen the size of the profession start to grow as demand for people is being met through effective recruitment and the introduction of more graduate apprentices and modern apprentices into the workforce. We have also seen a change in the demographic make-up of the workforce, with the proportion of young staff increasing over the period.

The strategy also addressed the competency of the workforce through the introduction of a Professional Competency Framework for Verifiers (PCF) supported by a Competency Assessment System (CAS). The PCF defined the roles in the profession and the relevant competency requirements. Verifiers undertook a review of skill gaps as part of the CAS. Analysis of the skill gaps was used to prioritise the development of training modules to be delivered by a new online training platform, developed by LABSS, dedicated to the learning needs identified by everyone in the profession.

The virtual learning environment and learning management system have completed user acceptance testing and will go live in Spring 2024. The profession will benefit from access to tailored training for all regardless of location and at a time that suits the individual best. New courses can be added to the learning catalogue and existing training can be updated when building regulations or procedures change.

Although the strategy has now closed, work to support the profession will continue under the remit of LABSS and the Building Standards Hub.

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