Individual competence is getting all the headlines but how do organisations manage it? Sofie Hooper deputy CEO of the Association for Project Safety reports on new guidance that shows how to put frameworks into practice.
Readers will no doubt have heard a great deal over the last nine years about the new building safety regime and its drive to raise competence across the built environment. Much of the focus has been on individual competence frameworks and ensuring people meet the required standards.
Over the past 18 months, however, the conversation has broadened to consider how individual competence should be managed within organisations. This is not only about meeting regulatory requirements under the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended) and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc) (England) Regulations 2023. It also reflects a growing recognition that culture change across the sector will not happen unless organisations change too.
Organisations can employ competent people, but if they do not create an environment where people can excel, challenge decisions and work within the limits of their competence, meaningful change is impossible.
This is why the Industry Task and Finish Group (ITFG) developed Managing Competence in the Built Environment: An Industry Guide on How to Meet the ICC principles. The guidance is designed to help organisations across the built environment understand what effective competence management looks like in practice.
The ITFG is a 50-strong, cross-sector collaboration of professional bodies, regulators and industry organisations. Its contributors recognised the need for practical guidance based on a single, consistent approach: clear, scalable and proportionate enough for both micro businesses and large companies to work towards the same expectations.
The guidance aligns with the Industry Competence Committee’s Setting Expectations on Competence Management – ICC Advice for Industry. The two documents are complementary. The ICC guidance sets out, at a high level, what organisations should do to manage and assure individual competence. The ITFG guidance explains how organisations can put those expectations into practice.
The ITFG guidance sets out key principles, including defining the competence required for different roles and activities, assessing and verifying competence, and ensuring it is monitored and maintained over time. It provides questions, prompts and tools to help organisations develop appropriate processes, alongside case studies and illustrative templates.
Designed to help small businesses
Importantly, the approach is designed to work alongside existing management systems rather than replace them – or to provide a foundation where no formal system exists.
It is particularly intended to support micro and SME businesses. It also applies to project teams delivering building work on both large and small projects, including maintenance, refurbishment and retrofit.
Culture is central to the guidance. Leadership, governance and behaviours are embedded throughout as essential building blocks of effective competence management.
So, where next? The ITFG is seeking feedback and hopes to use this to develop further case studies. The guidance also provides an important foundation for the future development of BS 8770.
With public consultation on the draft standard expected in early 2027, organisations and individuals interested in contributing to its development are encouraged to engage with the subject through the ITFG guidance on the BSI Competence Hub.
