National Occupational Standards (NOS) Review

Project Lead:

Rowland Keable

2021 - 2022, publish 2023, UK

Working closely with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), EBUKI works unfunded to bring Earth Building standards into the mainstream.

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The CITB Training Standards web page has more information

Relevant EBUKI links: Erasmus+, Jump, Education

• Need & Challenge - why it's needed

  National Occupational Standard related to earth building was lacking both structure and detail, and required serious additions

• Aim - what to achieve

  Embed detail of ECVET units into national system under Heritage Skills.

  This includes changes not only to the body text but also to the titles in the new NOS structure.

• Inputs - what resources are utilised

  EBUKI was nominated committee chair, which allowed us to recruit experts and interested voices.

  We attended both the technical meetings and the mandatory unit committees.

• Activities - what happens

  EBUKI made substantive changes to the text and this is then read through with CITB and changes are made to ensure the structure fits the standard NOS.

  A series of online meetings in Autumn 2021, and another series in Spring 2022.

• Outputs - what gets produced

  A newly structured NOS with a clearer structure and division between mandatory and technical units.

• Outcomes - what change happens

  The skills and knowledge of the ECVET units are now both clearly represented in the new NOS structure so that any assessor can see what can be measured against.

  This allows learners to properly understand what is expected of them.

• How the change is measured

  The learners' ability to see what they must achieve and the assessors' opportunity to see all the learning outcomes becomes clear.

  The number of learners who achieve an NVQ level 1, 2 or 3 in Earth Building increases.

  The number of FE colleges which teach and assess Earth Building increases.

  The number of employers who take on apprentices in earth structures increases.