The Industry Competence Committee (ICC) was set up in September 2023 to provide strategic leadership, advice and encouragement on matters of competence to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and the construction industry. It’s inaugural annual report has now been published. With industry competence a central criticism emerging from all post-Grenfell Tower inquiries and reports, this document is a crucial first step setting out the direction of travel, outlining expectations and aspirations.
So, what have the 18 members of the ICC concluded over the past 12-months and how do they plan to address the systemic weakness in industry competence? Firstly, the report outlines a clear strategic direction, is realistic of the challenges and how it can be delivered. It leverages existing structures, including the Industry Competence Steering Group (ICSG) and Sector Led Groups (SLG) to utilise expert knowledge and insights, avoid duplication and drive structural efficiencies. Challenges around, engagement, uptake and communication are clearly informed by the direct experience of the 18-member committee, hence the focus on realism and deliverability.
The scope of ambition is however significant. Holistic competence pathways across the entire built environment is an extremely broad remit, encompassing product development and testing, through to construction, retrofit, demolition and circularity (re-use). The scale of the challenge is underlined by the ICC’s group structure, with 24 individual SLGs, key topic groups (KTGs) and working groups (WGs). Effectively managing and coordinating this diverse group structure will require significant focus and strong governance, and the secretariat support from the BSR could prove a key factor here.
The report identifies that duty holder competence reform (Principal Designer and Contractor) is essential. This doesn’t just relate to technical competence, but also associated cultural change and transformational organisational behaviours. With uptake and understanding currently perceived as poor, developing an actionable plan to resolve these challenges across the highly fragmented built environment sector is ambitious. The ICC’s ambition to ‘foster cultures that allow individuals to speak up without fear when they feel they are being asked to work beyond the limits of their competence,’ requires more than a procedural change, but leadership, psychological safety, and structural incentives.
Evaluating progress is an essential, yet underdeveloped element in the ICC report. Building a robust measurement and evidence-based framework across the sector is critical to the success of the mission, but there is currently no agreement on what this competence metric or measurement methodology looks like. This is a significant undertaking and requires buy in and consensus at a scale that will prove challenging for the ICC.
A key omission in the ICC report is the role of digital infrastructure and tools. There is clear knowledge and understanding by the committee of the existing challenges with the fragmentary nature of the sector, but there is no specific reference to how online hubs, competence registries or toolkits may provide cohesion and assist practical delivery on ambitions.
It’s evident that the ICC’s success is intrinsically linked to industry engagement and participation. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who may lack the capacity or financial resources to take on additional regulatory commitments, will need clarity on how they will be incentivised, supported or regulated to achieve compliance. Understanding what ‘good looks like’ with practical support, such as competence management templates and affordable training, will be a crucial step in the right direction for this cohort.
Overall, this is a welcome start to the ICC’s tenure as a leadership and guidance resource for the BSR and wider industry. Establishing the mission and framework for compliance is a central plank, as will be a considered and inspiring programme of outreach and collaboration with industry. In its second year, we should start to see the operationalisation of the strategy for competence and with clarity and focus, this is something to embrace to raise standards and competence across the built environment sector.
A version of this article was published in Construction News
