CfA public consultation on National Occupation Standard for BCM commences

In August 2009 the Council for Administration (CfA), actively supported by the Continuity Forum started work on the development of National Occupational Standards (NOS) in Business Continuity to support administrators, middle and senior management in SMEs when developing a Business Continuity Plan for their organisation. Throughout the project there has been an strong interest and extensive engagement from key stakeholders with a professional background in BCM as well as from non BCM experts who are involved in a supporting capacity.

After a lot of work and many consultations we are now able to present the first draft of a suite containing ten NOS describing the functions that are needed when working at operational (supporting roles) and strategic levels.  Following long discussions we were able to incorporate the majority of recommendations made by our key stakeholders. The BCM NOS suite contains four NOS at operational level (admin support and one middle management level) and six NOS at strategic level. In time we are hoping to expand on the suite by adding new NOS as and when demand emerges.

To ensure these NOS are fit for purpose, the next stage of the project requires a second wider public consultation to seek comment from the potential end users. Therefore two online questionnaires; one with focus on the operational functions and the other on the strategic functions have been prepared by the CfA which we are sharing through this site for you comment on. 

National Occupational Standards for Business Continuity Management (supporting role)

National Occupational Standards for Business Continuity Management (Strategic level)

The survey is open as from Wednesday, 11^th August and will close on Wednesday, 8^th September. 

More information

National Occupation Standards (NOS) are not to be confused with British or ISO Standards. They are a tool for organisations to structure and acquire the knowledge needed to describe good practice within an employers area of activities. The Council for Administration is one of the Standards setting bodies that provides the framework for employers and employees across to develop necessary skills.

By working through the CfA we are developing a new learning channel that promotes BCM learning to a much wider range of organisations, engaging with far more operationally orientated people.  

These Qualifications are not aimed at the BCM professional, but rather organisations looking to develop their peoples ability to work with more experienced BCM professionals and take on responsibility within departments, offices or indeed any other area.    

NOS and the S/NVQ framework

Vocational Qualifications are occupation based qualifications which are developed using the National Occupational Standards (NOS). They are work-related, competency based qualifications which are designed specifically to define specific occupations.

Vocational Qualifications are better known as NVQs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and SVQs in Scotland.

Widely recognised by employers, S/NVQs are often used as the main focus of training. S/NVQs demonstrate that an employee has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform competently and successfully. The courses are taught partly in the workplace and partly in college or in an approved training centre. Assessed entirely in the workplace, employees are required to develop a portfolio of evidence that shows them carrying out work activities to an S/NVQ standard.

The Continuity Forum believes by enabling greater access to support structures and guided learning on Business Continuity the whole sector will benefit from greater awareness and focus on the value of BCM to organisations.

For more details on National Occupational Standards please click here  

If you would like to learn more about the NOS project with the CfA please contact us directly here or call us on 0208 993 1599.