National Occupational Standards (NOS) are a free resource for employers and training providers. They cover the spectrum of different occupations within the security sector and describe the knowledge and skills required to perform work to the nationally agreed standard for each specialism. Those standards are determined by experts in their chosen field.
National Occupational Standards are used by Awarding Organisations to design qualifications, but they are also an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to design a training programme, assess the skills of their workforce, write job descriptions and job advertisements or undertake staff appraisals, because they offer an accurate benchmark to work with.
NOS Projects for Development or Review in 2013-14
The Skills and Standards team at Skills for Security is calling on industry practitioners to lend their knowledge and experience to the development and review of National Occupational Standards within their sectors.
Following a successful funding bid to UKCES the Skills and Standards team in association with Advisory Working Groups members will be developing a new suite of NOS for Remote Monitoring, reviewing the existing NOS for Security Search Operations, and reviewing the Scottish Providing Security Systems L3 Apprenticeship Framework.
Ruth Oliver, Skills and Standards Manager said: ''We are looking for people who work within these sectors and who know what is required to reflect current working practices to come forward and work with us. The work will take place between April and December and will be a combination of workshops and email consultation. 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 the different sectors.''
Anyone interested in taking part should contact: nos@skillsforsecurity.org.uk or wanting to know more should click this link
NOS Consultation Update
There is currently one suite of draft NOS available for consultation. Please click here to review the draft NOS for Security Search Operations and complete the online questionnaire.
Approved NOS to download:
NOS for Event Security Operations approved March 2013
Revised NOS for Electronic Security Systems approved February 2013
NOS for Enforcement Agents approved April 2011
Revised NOS for Providing Close Protection approved October 2011
NOS for Port Security Operations approved December 2011
Revised NOS for CCTV Operations approved December 2011
NOS for Mechanical Fire Protection approved January 2012
NOS for Security and Loss Prevention approved April 2011
NOS for Private Investigators approved May 2010
NOS for Security Dog Handling approved Dec 2009
S/NVQ Qualification Frameworks
National Vocational Qualifications are neither training courses nor examinations. They are methods of assessing competency and providing recognition to people who have been trained in accordance with National Occupational Standards (NOS).
NOS are used to define the knowledge and understanding required for a role or task and may be used as the basis for vocational qualifications. In S/NVQ's units are grouped together that reflect a particular role. This means that a candidate has achieved the relevant knowledge and understanding, but can also demonstrate workplace competence.
View Skills for Security's Assessment Strategy
We welcome your feedback - please let us know how you use National Occupational Standards to support your work. You can contact Nos@skillsforsecurity.org.uk with your experiences.
