Workforce and competency

Workforce strategy

It is essential for verifiers to have a workforce with the capacity and capability to deliver a sustainable service. We published the workforce strategy for the building standards verification service on 1 October 2020. The aim of the strategy was to strengthen the operational resilience of the building standards service.

The strategy was implemented over a three-year period. It set national and local commitments that supported verifiers to strengthen the skills and competence of the workforce, attract, recruit and retain people in essential job roles. The strategy had four themes:

a sustainable workforce
a skilled workforce
a professional framework
a profession for everyone

Actions across the four strategy themes were brought together into five core projects to support a coherent approach to delivery with all partners. The five projects were:

implementing the Competency Assessment System (CAS)
promoting the profession
implementing a Professional Framework
developing vocational pathways
developing a learning and development hub

Some notable achievements of the strategy include:

development and implementation of a Professional Competency Framework and a Competency Assessment System from 1 June 2021
embedding of a learning and development function into the Scottish Building Standards Hub (SBSH)
the launch of the Building Standards Ambassadors’ Network by Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) in April 2021 to promote the profession
introduction of a vocational pathway through a new Modern Apprenticeship (MA) route aligned with the building standards profession with LABSS and the further education sector

The workforce strategy was closed in October 2023 and the closure report published. This formal closure report highlights the progress achieved and details the work that is continuing.

Careers in building standards

Information on building standards careers can be found on the Local Authority Building Standards Scotland website.

Competency assessment

The Building Standards Competency Steering Group was set up in June 2024 to oversee the development a new model for assessing, managing, validating and recording competency in the building standards profession.

Work is led by Building Standards Division in partnership with LABSS, SBSH and other built environment and skills organisations with a leading role on professional competency assessment.

The Steering Group provides a platform to introduce a methodology for independent assessment of competency for building standards professionals and review the original Professional Competency Framework for Verifiers (PCF) and the Competency Assessment System (CAS) implemented in 2021.

Through the Steering Group, and research into options for competency assessment for building standards professionals in Scotland, an interim process using a peer review model has been adopted, which gained approval from the Steering Group to launch on 27 October 2025.

The Professional Competency Framework for Verifiers was revised in partnership with LABSS and SBSH and agreed by the Steering Group for implementation in 2025.

Information on the new digital Competency Assessment System for the building standards profession is on the SBSH website and information on the interim peer review process is on the LABSS website.

A review of the interim process in autumn 2026 will measure the success of the process and whether or not there is a need to appoint an independent third party to manage and deliver competency assessment and validation in Scotland.

Partnership working

We work in close partnership with LABSS and SBSH on workforce and competency matters to ensure the best outcomes in the interests of verifiers and the Scottish building standards system.

Partnership working is achieved through regular engagement on policy development and participation in relevant working group and steering groups.

Workforce data collection analysis reports

Workforce data collection analysis reports provide a national-level view of the challenges facing the building standards profession in relation to resourcing, development of competencies and levels of turnover. The annual reports from 2023 onwards also include information on verificaiton performance.

See the following annual reports for more information:

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