Helen Hewitt, CEO of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF)

For housebuilders and developers, the post-Grenfell legislative challenge is no longer about simply keeping pace with regulation. It is about proving competence in a way that stands up to scrutiny at every stage of design, construction, handover and occupation.

For many years, company accreditations and third-party certification schemes have played an important role in demonstrating commitment to quality and compliance. While they remain valuable, they do not necessarily guarantee that every person carrying out a life-safety-critical task has the right skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours (SKEB) to do it properly.

The Building Safety Act 2022, together with wider fire safety reforms, has accelerated a shift from assumed competence towards demonstrable individual competence. In practice, that means the industry must be able to demonstrate not only that businesses are accredited, but also that the people who specify, install, inspect and maintain critical products are competent and appropriately qualified for the roles they perform.

For developers, this is about risk management, resident safety and long-term building performance. Fire safety is where that issue is most visible, but competence must now be embedded throughout the delivery of all life-safety-critical work.

Accreditation and competence are not the same thing

Across construction, organisational accreditation is often treated as evidence of on-site capability. However, a certified business can still employ, appoint or subcontract workers whose competence has not been properly validated for a particular task. This is especially important for products whose performance depends as much on installation and maintenance as on specification and manufacture. 

Fire doors are a clear example. A fire door may be rigorously tested and supplied through a compliant route, but it will not perform as intended if the person fitting it does not understand fire-resistant requirements, frame gaps and clearances, intumescent seals, or have proven experience in installing fire doors to the manufacturer’s specification. The fire safety industry has historically managed competence through organisational schemes. While these are valuable, they must be underpinned by evidence of individual competence.

For housebuilders and developers, this creates a practical challenge. Procurement teams may be confident that a contractor or supplier holds the right accreditations yet still have limited visibility into whether the individuals on site hold the right qualifications, task-specific training or validated competence for the work they are doing.

If the people installing, inspecting, or maintaining a fire door cannot demonstrate individual competence, the wider assurance framework is weakened, regardless of how many organisational certificates are in place. 

Ultimately, a building is only as safe and resilient as the quality of the work delivered across its supply chain, which is why competence should be viewed as a core part of both asset protection and regulatory compliance. 

Putting demonstrable individual capability first 

Through the work of the Industry Competence Steering Group (ICSG) – Sector-Led Group 10 for Installers and Trades (SLG 10), the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) has led on defining routes to competence for site carpenters, architectural joiners and specialist timber fire door installers that put individual capability front and centre.

This approach matters because it moves competence from assumption to evidence. Under the site carpentry competence route, individuals need regulated vocational qualifications – NVQ Level 2 (England) or SVQ Level 6 (Scotland) in site carpentry or completion of a recognised apprenticeship. They are also required to pass additional tests, such as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Health, Safety and Environmental test, to obtain the blue CSCS card, alongside the CITB Fire Safety in Buildings course, before being deemed competent. 

This will require a period of transition for the industry, as businesses make sure their employees and contractors hold the appropriate baseline qualifications. While the newly reviewed National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Wood Occupations move through the approvals process, work is continuing to update the recommended qualification structure (RQS) and the relevant apprenticeship standard to help future-proof those routes for timber and composite fire door installers. 

Through our work with industry partners, we’re in discussions with UCAS-approved schemes to embed individual qualification requirements into accreditation processes to support a practical and consistent transition across the sector.

Competence cannot stand still 

As competency frameworks evolve, it is important that competence remains dynamic. Individuals must continue to maintain their skills and capabilities through regular Continuing Professional Development (CPD). 

The route to competence for a site carpenter sets out CPD pathways that support the ongoing maintenance of competence and the revalidation of the CSCS card. This creates a clearer professional development pathway that benefits individuals, employers and ultimately building occupants.

This is why SKEB matters more than certificates alone. Skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours offer a fuller and more meaningful test of competence because they reflect not only what someone has achieved in the past, but whether they can apply that capability consistently and responsibly in practice.

Raising standards throughout the sector

Competence must now be treated as a baseline requirement, not an optional extra. Housebuilders and developers must look beyond company-level accreditation and start asking who is carrying out life-safety-critical work, what evidence of competence exists and how that competence is maintained over time.

The introduction of new competency frameworks is a pivotal opportunity for contractors, manufacturers, and the wider sector to come together to raise standards and build a skilled, knowledgeable workforce that can support future growth.

Competence is the foundation on which safe, high-performing buildings depend. The task for us now is to ensure that it is robust and consistent across the entire supply chain.