Standards of Competence to Improve Performance

The Construction Industry Council has published a report summarising the findings and conclusions of the recently completed Standards of Competence to Improve Performance (SCIP) project. SCIP pushes forward the Government and industry’s plan to improve the performance of the industry and the competence of its people. It focused on how Occupational Standards could be used to improve performance by introducing them into procurement processes along with managing the culture and people issues that affect industry performance.The project aimed to identify potential improvements to industry performance by integrating the industry’s established framework of occupational standards into the performance requirements of design/construction projects. It explored the relationship between project processes, outcomes and the relevant competence of design/construction team members, together with team composition. It identified the case for enabling clients and others to establish design and construction and supply teams with the appropriate range of competencies to meet project needs.

The key findings of the project were that:
• Benefits were identified for project outcomes of using Occupational Standards and a competence based approach to ‘people issues’ particularly in recruitment, retention, assessment, training and development
• Respodents identified the potential for gaining competitive advantage and enhancing quality through the use of Occupational Standards
• The correlation between the competence of project teams and project outcomes, and the provision of a systematic means for improving competencies to meet project needs, has been firmly established
• Procurement strategies have been shown to be a driver for promoting the use of competencies
• The benefits of using Occupational Standards are closely relate to the principles and indicators of the Investors in People standard, the Respect for People KPI’s and achieving a qualified workforce