Industry-wide consultations on the new draft National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Locksmiths and the revised NOS for Security & Loss Prevention and Community Wardens are now live in a special area on the Skills for Security website. Skills have asked “Do they fully reflect the job roles within these sectors of the industry? Are they up to date and fit for purpose? Specialist working groups from these sectors have created the drafts and it is now up to you, the practitioners out there, to have your say.” They believe that it is essential that these consultations reflect a UK-wide cross section of views from large and small companies alike.
National Occupational Standards (NOS) describe the knowledge and skills that people need to perform a job of work. They have over 115 uses, including designing training programmes, assessing the skills of the workforce, writing job descriptions and undertaking staff appraisals to name a few. They are vital to the private security industry, but are only of use if they are accurate in describing the current knowledge and skills required to work in this ever-changing sector.
Ruth Oliver, Standards Development Manager at Skills for Security comments: ’National Occupational Standards are a free resource for employers and training providers. They provide a wealth of benefits to the industry and also help to ensure that a benchmark for high standards is retained throughout training and qualifications within this area. We urge all security professionals to comment on these draft NOS as this is their opportunity to ensure that they meet their requirements.’
The consultation for Security & Loss Prevention and for Community Wardens ends on 30th November and for Locksmiths on 10th December.