National Occupational Standards

National Occupational Standards (NOS) provide benchmarks for competent performance. The content is led by demand and based on evidence from industry. The NOS underpin vocational training, apprenticeship frameworks and qualifications across the UK, in all sectors and occupations. CITB develops and maintains these standards for the construction industry.

See a list of the occupational areas that CITB works on

You can use these National Occupational Standards to:

• Describe good practice in particular areas of work
• Set out a statement of competence
• Provide resource for a variety of workforce management and quality control tools
• Offer a framework for training and development.

The standards are compiled in 'suites' under occupational areas and can be viewed individually on the National Occupational Standards database.

National Occupational Standards under review

The suites in development in 2024-2025 are:

• Access Operations and Rigging
• Asbestos and Asbestos Surveying and Analysis
• Construction Plant or Machinery Maintenance
• Fitted Interiors
• Metal Decking & Stud Welding
• Piling Operations
• Plant Operations
• Refractory Installations
• Removal of Hazardous and Non-Hazardous waste
• Site Inspection
• Specialist Installation Occupations
• Sub-structure Work Occupations
• Super-structure Work Occupations
• Testing, Inspections and thorough Examination of Plant, Machinery, Equipment or Accessories
• Thermal Insulation
• Wood Machining

If you would like to be involved or contribute to the updating of these suites of NOS please forward any comments/suggestions to standards.qualifications@citb.co.uk.