WG2 Report: the end of ‘qualify once, work forever’?

Last month (May 2022) saw the publication of a new report on installer competence. 

The report was prepared on behalf of Working Group 2 (WG2), the group charged with establishing a new, post-Grenfell competence regime for installers, which Dame Judith Hackitt called for as part of her 2018 report, ‘Building a Safer Future’. 

The WG2 report focuses on six ‘pilot’ installer disciplines, analysing their current competence arrangements, and in particular where each falls short of the new, higher expectations. 

For individuals, the biggest change is likely to be an end to the ‘qualify once, work forever’ philosophy

These six disciplines are: 

• domestic plumbing and heating
• dry lining
• fire detection and alarms
• fire stopping
• rain-screen cladding
• roofing

Over the past year, representatives from each of these sectors have been working actively with volunteers from WG2 to get the report ready.

There are some wide differences in the quality, coverage and effectiveness of current competence arrangements within the pilot disciplines. 

All six have long lists of actions, however, which they will need to implement during the next phase, when each finally gets down to developing a sector-specific framework in line with BSI Flex 8670 and WG2’s own competence recommendations.

This is vital work, and it is critical that installers themselves are in the driving seat

For individuals, the biggest change is likely to be an end to the ‘qualify once, work forever’ philosophy singled out for criticism in Dame Judith’s 2018 report. Starting with the pilots, every installer discipline will need to come up with new standardised requirements for CPD and new procedures for revalidating individuals’ competence every few years. 

For organisations, WG2 has recommended the extension of accredited independent third-party certification arrangements – until now, confined mostly to particular sectors and/or types of work (e.g. Competent Person Schemes in the domestic market) – to all installer sectors. 

These should include regular and robust checks on organisations’ compliance with requirements to employ people who are properly qualified for the work they do, and to ensure that workforce competence is consistently maintained through appropriate CPD and revalidation. 

This is the first step, and only the first step, towards the establishing the clear, robust and consistent installer competence regime

As well as making sure that the contents of these new sector-specific frameworks are right, WG2 will continue to work closely with each pilot discipline to identify any significant obstacles to implementation. There is, for example, already widespread agreement among the pilot disciplines that the UK’s technical education system remains inadequately structured and resourced to deliver the enhancements to training and assessment which the new installer competence regime is going to need. 

Many sectors are also likely to struggle with significant marketplace barriers to uptake of the new regime. Such barriers include price-centred commercial practices, a preponderance of micro-firms and sole traders, and inflated levels of workforce self-employment. Clients, consultants, main contractors and Government, therefore, all have important contributions of their own to make in creating a more supportive environment for installer competence.

This is vital work, and it is critical that installers themselves are in the driving seat when it comes to designing and implementing the competence framework for their sector. 

As well as the pilots, there is no reason now why other installer disciplines – indeed, all – should not start the process of analysing for themselves what the gaps are between where their discipline is currently on competence and where it needs to be. 

This is the first step, and only the first step, towards the establishing the clear, robust and consistent installer competence regime which Dame Judith called for, way back in 2018.