Introduction

The Workforce Development Trust has been commissioned by the Cabinet Office to carry out a review of the Resilience and Emergencies suite of National Occupational Standards (NOS) to address identified functional gaps.

National Occupational Standards (NOS) describe the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to do a particular job to a nationally recognised level of competence.

The Civil Contingencies suite of National Occupational Standards (NOS) was updated in 2025 and is now known as the Resilience and Emergencies suite.  

The NOS for Resilience and Emergencies are designed to provide a comprehensive, structured national resource to be used in the development of the resilience workforce. Aligned with the UK government’s vision for a more resilient society, the standards guide recruitment, training and performance management for organisations involved in mitigating, planning and responding to emergencies and crises. They have wide application across public, private and voluntary sectors, describing the competences needed to strengthen preparedness.

This project has arisen following the identification of functional gaps in the Resilience and Emergencies suite. 

To ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute feedback and input to the final versions of these NOS, The Workforce Development Trust are now carrying out a public consultation.

This should take no longer than 15 - 30 minutes. Please help us by contributing to this consultation.

The deadline for the consultation is at midday on Friday, 8th May 2026.

The links to the NOS are placed at the relevant sections throughout this survey. However, if you require a word version of these documents please contact Maeve.OConnell@wdtrust.org.uk. 

Thank you for taking part.