Massive HVACR skills consultation gets underway

A major task to update National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) sectors is taking place, and the industry is being asked to help by offering their insights through a public consultation process.

Building Services Engineering (BSE) Skills, is urging employers, employees and other stakeholders who can provide the expertise, experience and understanding of the sector to help them ensure the NOS are technically fit for purpose.

With the industry facing a growing skills shortage, BSE Skills said it was more important than ever that the standards which underpin training for apprenticeships and qualifications across the various professions for the whole UK fully reflect the evolving nature of HVACR.

The standards were last updated in 2019, and the current project seeks to reflect technology changes and new regulations since then, particularly those with implications for building safety because NOS play a part in ensuring workers are competent to carry out their specific tasks.

Each standard includes performance criteria and outlines required knowledge and understanding for each industry discipline. As a result, BSE Skills said this project would also play a major part in ensuring the industry can meet future customer demands and contribute effectively to the UK’s net zero targets.

The new NOS are now in draft form after a series of meetings with employers, employees and training providers from all parts of the UK and they are available to be reviewed via the consultation portal here. The consultation closes on November 29.

Technical areas under review and requiring expert feedback via the consultation include installation, maintenance, servicing, commissioning/decommissioning, fault diagnosis/repair of electrical and mechanical plant and equipment for heating, ventilation, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps.

BSE Skills is a not-for-profit company, established as a joint venture by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), SELECT and the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF).

It was set up in June 2017 and manages NOS, qualifications and apprenticeships for the building services engineering sector across the UK, as well as addressing the wider skills needs of the sector. It cumulatively represents over 43,000 businesses and around 342,000 operatives.

“This is your opportunity to have a say in the training standards which underpin qualifications and apprenticeships in the sector,” said BESA’s director of competence and compliance Helen Yeulet. “This project will help us develop the skills framework that will underpin a safer, more sustainable built environment now and far into the future.”

BSE Skills added that it was fully focused on developing and promoting the skills agenda by working collaboratively with other key stakeholders “to deliver the type of skilled people that employers are looking for and that the sector needs”.

The consultation, which closes on November 29, can be accessed here.