Standards

National Occupational Standards: an overview

CfA oversees the development and review of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for a variety of business skills, including Business & Administration, Management & leadership, Enterprise, Languages, Customer Service and Marketing & Sales.

National Occupational Standards define the performance that individuals are required to achieve when carrying out specific functions in the workplace, together with the required underpinning knowledge and understanding.

Development of NOS

NOS are developed through consultation with practicing employees and representatives of the relevant business sector, employer organisations, professional bodies, awarding bodies and training providers. They are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain up to date and reflect current industry practice, following defined methodologies.

Using NOS

NOS are used in a variety of ways, both within the UK and internationally. They directly form the modules contained within Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs), and indirectly inform the development of Vocational Qualifications (VQs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NOS are also used by individuals and organisations in a number of ways, particularly in relation to training, development, recruitment and selection of staff. They can be used to:

Describe good practice in areas of work
Form the basis of a research-led competence framework for organisations or departments
Provide managers with a tool for workforce management and quality control
Design training and development frameworks
Develop job descriptions and person specifications for recruitment
Undertake staff appraisals
Set individual or team objectives
Identify individual training needs
Design and develop in-house training programmes
Benchmark performance

Available Suites:

The following suites of NOS are overseen by CfA.

Sector Skills Councils wishing to import NOS into their own suites should contact CfA for further information.

Business & Administration

Business & Administration

Business & Administration – Specialist NOS

Self Administration

Governance

Governance

Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership

Customer Service