Executive Summary
- The Industry Task and Finish Group (ITFG) has published guidance on navigating the ICC principles for competence management across the bult environment
- Feedback from industry consultations in May and September last year has led to common principles being established that should underpin organisational approaches to competence
- The Electrical Contractors’ Association was involved as part of the ITFG and said the framework will help businesses ‘demonstrate their integrity and professionalism’
The Industry Task and Finish Group (ITFG) has published guidance for organisations across the built environment on how to apply expectations for competence management set out by the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) last month.
The 88-page document outlines a framework for planning, managing, supporting and evidencing competence, drawing together regulatory context, industry good practice and a clear methodology for application across the built environment.
The ITFG was created in June 2025, bringing together more than 50 stakeholders across professional bodies, industry, regulators and assurance in response to the Building Safety Regime’s requirement for managing competence in organisations.
The group developed the guide based on the publication of the ICC’s advice, Setting Expectations on Competence Management Principles. Feedback derived from industry consultations in May and September last year has led to the common principles being established that should underpin organisational approaches to competence.
Example case studies are included in the guide’s appendix. These range across all organisation sizes, from a sole practitioner – the example given being a sole practitioner providing fire risk assessment and advisory services – to a national organisation delivering design, construction and building safety services.
The guide states: “The purpose of managing competence is not to ensure that all people meet the standards set out in industry competence frameworks but to ensure that organisations have, collectively, access to enough individuals with the necessary combination of skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to deliver the required outcomes to the appropriate standard.”
The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) contributed to the guide as part of the ITFG. “As the electrotechnical sector becomes increasingly in demand in the UK through increasing digitisation, electrification and the clean energy transition, this demand must go hand-in-hand with safety and competency,” said Ruth Devine, ECA immediate past president and ICC member.
“The ICC’s work will help businesses demonstrate their integrity and professionalism, providing them with a framework to protect them from the risks that come from failures in competency,” added Devine.
