National Occupational Standards
What are National Occupational Standards?
National Occupational Standards (NOS) describe what an individual needs to do, know, and understand in order to carry out a particular job or function.
How can National Occupational Standards be used?
They can be used to:
- describe good practice in a particular area of work
- set out a statement of competence which bring together the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to do the work
- provide managers with a tool for a wide variety of workforce management and quality control
- offer a framework for training and development
- form the basis of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) and a number of other vocational qualifications.
How do National Occupational Standards help employers?
They help employers by:
- Improving quality of goods and services
- Increasing productivity
- Reducing costs for recruitment by providing criteria for the selection of new employees
- Providing a means for better human resources planning
- Helping effective skills upgrading
- Acting as a benchmark for rewarding experience, knowledge and competence.
How do National Occupational Standards help employees?
They help employees by:
- Identifying the skills and knowledge needed for occupations
- Providing a reference to assess ability and training needs
- Identifying and supporting career paths
- Providing guidelines for certification/accreditation
- Increasing mobility within industries.
