National Occupational Standards

National Occupational Standards (or NOS) set out what employees should be able to do in a particular type of job.  For example, the National Occupational Standards for footwear operatives explain the knowledge and skills that an employee working in a footwear company should be able to demonstrate, and that an employer should be able to expect.

 

NOS are important because they go hand-in-hand with vocational qualifications such as NVQs (or SVQs in Scotland).  In fact, a new qualification can’t be put in place until the National Occupational Standard has been developed, and an existing qualification can’t be revised until the relevant NOS has been revised.

 

Sector Skills Councils “own” the National Occupational Standards for their area of industry (which is this case covers clothing, footwear and leather, textiles, sector-relevant design and laundry/dry-cleaning).  This means that the SSC is responsible for keeping the standards up-to-date, so that they continue to reflect the skills and knowledge that employees need to work in particular jobs.  Sector Skills Councils are also responsible for creating brand new standards as the basis for new vocational qualifications.

 

Employers have a very important role to play in National Occupational Standards, and Sector Skills Councils actively work with key employers from each part of the sector to:

 

·         Find out what skills and knowledge employees should have in certain jobs, and at certain levels, based on their own experience in their own business.

·         Change NOS that are out of date, and create new NOS for job areas where no National Occupational Standards currently exist.  Qualifications can then be revised or created to meet employers’ needs

·         Ensure qualifications are fit-for-purpose and don’t waste both employers’ and employees' time.

 

You can access the NOS for fashion and textiles by clicking on the careers tab on the main navigation bar of this website, then the green button for STANDARDS.