Over the past eighteen months you may have seen reference to the NOS (National Occupational Standards) review of Chimney Occupations and the CO-NOS-NWG (National Working Group). So what are the NOS, and what does the CO-NOS-NWG do?? Plenty of acronyms here, ok so far?
The NOS are statements of competencies which define every trade or occupation. They specify the scope and level of underpinning knowledge and skills that are required to demonstrate competence in a trade e.g. plumber, bricklayer, chimney sweep, electrician.
National Occupational Standards dictate not just NVQ assessment criteria, but also standards for training courses and even job descriptions. It’s important that organisations delivering training map their courses and assessments to the relevant NOS. This is a straightforward process for the Guild, as the basic training already covers a good deal more than the minimum requirement.
Responsibility for overseeing this review lay with the Construction Industry Training Board (CSTB). The NOS for all trades should be reviewed periodically and updated by the industry to reflect changes in the industry and the work it does. For various reasons this has not happened within the Chimney Occupations and the wider industry was not always involved. The bringing together of the new Chimney Occupations National Working Group with its industry wide representation has provided a platform for the GMCS along with other industry stakeholders to take an active role in the future development of the trade in the best interest of its members.
For a NOS review to take place, a case must be made, and permission granted by all four Nations of the UK. The four Nations granted their consent, recognising that the existing Chimney Occupations NOS failed to reflect the current needs, and practices of the industry, and the work undertaken by its trades.
Why have a review?
The NOS review was in response to legislative change and requirements to improve air quality and technological advancements (appliance design) in the use of solid fuel and biomass as a heat source. Due to increasing legislation, chimney sweeping along with the wider industry is consolidating towards a framework of self-regulation. Testament to this is the increasing representation and recognition of the sweeps in forging new and stronger ties within the industry and the wider sector stakeholders. Again, the GMCS has not been shy in ensuring members interests are best represented. This new framework empowers Chimney Sweeping as a distinct trade, playing its part in the industry obligations to meet our environmental responsibilities for today and the future.
An evolving industry requires the provision of a workforce that is ready to implement the changes needed to lower emissions, improve air quality and more recently, to provide fuel security. The increasing scope and complexity of the work of the sweep and installer, changes in air quality policy and technological advances in stove and flue design meant that the existing NOS needed amendment. It was clear to the NWG (industry stakeholders) that the review needed to formally recognise the occupation of installer to reflect the two distinct trades of chimney sweep and installer. The new NOS reflect the real world of work and addresses ongoing technological advancements and changes in appliances and systems to improve combustion performance.
The increasing complexity of the installers system design and installation, and the intricacies of the sweeps traditional work of customer advocacy, inspection, servicing and maintenance, NOS Review Chimney Occupations National Occupational Standards Review (CO-NOS) marks an ever-widening distinction between the two sets of competencies. The new NOS recognises the different sets of competencies required by the two trades and defines inspection, service, and maintenance within the competency definitions of the modern-day sweep.
Oversight and process
The NOS review is a strictly regulated process. The review was sponsored by Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) in its function as a Standard Setting Organisation. A National Working Group (NWG) for the Chimney Occupations was formed mid-2021. All the stakeholders within the solid fuel and biomass sector were invited to provide representatives to the group. The group consisted of wider industry trade associations (sweeps, stove manufacturers, flue manufacturers etc.), solid fuel Competent Persons Schemes and several other representatives from Local Authority Building Control (LABC) and other Government bodies. The working group also included individual working practitioners from the trades of chimney sweeping and installing. The role of this industry led group role was to determine what knowledge, understanding and skill sets the trades person needs to be defined as competent in their area of expertise and ensure the NOS reflect this.
After lengthy consultation and consideration, the National Working Group approved the suite of new NOS for submission to the Regulator last November. The four Nations ratified them and granted permission to adopt the new Chimney Occupations NOS for Chimney Sweeping, Inspection, Service and Maintenance and Installation. They were published in January 2023. They are now available to view as Public Documents at www.ukstandards.org.uk/NOS-Finder#k=chimney%20occupations
It is not an overstatement to say this is a landmark in the development of the chimney sweep and wider installer trade. Despite the setbacks created by the submission of a formal complaint objecting to the scope of the review, the CO-NOSNWG provided a fertile platform for industry wide stakeholders to collaborate and collectively respond to the issues and challenges of the industry.
The Guild thanks everyone involved, particularly the working group chair, Phil Cleaver, and the CITB standards developer, Paul Lintott, who had to steer a difficult course through it all.
What happens now?
The revised NOS’s have been published. The NOS define the standards and competencies as agreed by the wider trade and one of their uses is to modify and map existing training courses or even compile new ones which encompass any new requirements. They are also used as the basis for assessment criteria for formal qualifications such as NVQ’s.
- The NOS for Level 2 NVQ in Chimney Sweeping have been amended, with some new standards added to reflect recent and anticipated changes in political policy and technological development. Service and maintenance have been formally recognised as within the occupational scope of the sweep.
- There is a new Level 2 NVQ for installers. Previously there was no formal installer qualification.
- The new Level 3 NVQ which entails the knowledge and skills needed to carry out inspections of installations, provide reports and from these to provide designs of solid fuel installations. This is aimed towards chimney sweeps and installers and will align chimney occupations with other trades within construction.
The new NOS provide sweeps and installers with the opportunity to gain enhanced nationally recognised qualifications and become the architects that drive the professionalisation that our industry and our customers need.
Will sweeps need to be qualified?
No. Nothing changes with respect to formal regulation of the sweep trade and there is no requirement for qualification in what is an unregulated industry. However, now that we have a set of up to date standards that are relevant to the current political climate, it is reasonable to expect that individuals will continue to move toward qualification. Training organisations are likely to ensure that their courses cover all the new standards and increase the promotion of professionalism through qualification. An increasingly qualified workforce reinforces the wider industry consolidation towards self-regulation.
We can expect that over time, private companies, organisations and various authorities will recognise the assurances that qualification provides and look to engage those that have one. After all, this happens in all other trades.
Many thanks again to all the individuals and stakeholders on the National Working Group who were involved in what was a difficult and complicated job. In particular the Guild extends its thanks to: Phil Cleaver, Chris Geeves, John Stone, Bethan Richards, Ed Wilson, John Dudley, Ian Patterson and Lawson Wight
