Strategic restructure to transform industry competence

The Engineering and Building Services Skills Authority (EBSSA), of which ECA is a founding member, is set to build on its work ‘raising the bar’ on individual competence within the built environment. Today EBSSA becomes part of a new industry competence structure under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). 

Today’s announcement by the Industry Competence Steering Group (ICSG) clarifies  EBSSA’s role in defining the post-Grenfell competence regime, as it will sit directly under the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) and the BSR. 

Established in response to the Grenfell Tower Fire and subsequent independent review by Dame Judith Hackitt, ICSG has now transitioned to become a formal working group of the ICC under the BSR, signalling a strategic shift towards more rigorous industry-wide competence frameworks.

The new structure includes sector-led groups, key topic groups, and working groups. They bring together contributions from over 60 professional and trade bodies and 1500 individuals in the built environment, with membership of the sector led groups still growing.
EBSSA was convened in 2023 by Actuate UK members, together with other leading sector bodies, BEAMA, CIPHE, TICA-ACAD and the standards organisation MCS. Its aim is to provide a credible, authoritative voice for skills across all engineering and building services. 

EBBSA’s has focused its energy on The Engineering Services Super Sector (Engineering Services Installation & Maintenance), which launches in January 2025. This is one of five super-sector groupings operating under the aegis of Working Group 2: Installers (WG2), with support from the Construction Leadership Council. 

Andrew Eldred, ECA Chief Operating Officer and Working Group 2 Engineering Services Super Sector lead, said: 

“Actuate UK, EBSSA and our member associations have been contributing to development of sector-specific competence frameworks for several years now. We are well into the delivery and implementation phase, with some engineering disciplines having already issued their frameworks and many others progressing well towards the same end. 

Sector Lead Group (SLG10.2) Engineering Services Installation and Maintenance gives us a great focal point, allowing different engineering services organisations to come together, share information and ideas, and support each other towards the goal of raising the bar on competence. ICSG, in turn, provides an opportunity for wider dialogue and support, both across the built environment as a whole and in collaboration with the Building Safety Regulator and other parts of government.”