Strengthening competency and technical capability in the built environment
Posted on: 3 December, 2025
By Nick Perkins,
Head of Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA)
The University of the Built Environment has launched the Built Environment Futures Assembly (BEFA) – a leadership forum designed to strengthen competency and technical capability across the sector. Operating at the intersection of education and professional practice, BEFA’s mission is to build future-facing capacity, capability and confidence in the workforce. Here, the head of BEFA, Nick Perkins, explores how the built environment sector can maintain, evidence and assure the currency of professional and technical competence.
From static qualification to dynamic competence assurance
Competence in the built environment is no longer a fixed point captured at qualification. It is a dynamic, evolving requirement, shaped by emerging technologies, digital tools, regulatory reform and new delivery models.
To maintain public trust, the sector must shift from static assumptions of competence to continuous, transparent and task-specific assurance – demonstrating that professionals are up to date at the moment of practice.
Traditional approaches emphasise entry standards and periodic CPD. However, in a landscape defined by accelerated change, competency assurance must become more granular, evidence-based and tightly aligned to real-world tasks.
Watch a short video from Mark Farmer, BEFA Chair and author of ‘Modernise or Die’ and ‘Transforming the Construction Workforce’, outlining why competency in the built environment must be treated as a dynamic concept.
Clear, role-specific competency frameworks
Competency should be defined not only by job title but also by the specific technical skills, digital capabilities, and day-to-day responsibilities required. Frameworks need to reflect:
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Digital practice and data literacy
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Safety and building compliance
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Sustainability and modern methods of construction
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Procurement, ethics and governance
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Required levels of autonomy and supervision
These profiles help organisations deploy the right competence to the right task – and evidence it.
Evidence of current and verifiable competence
To show that competence is current, employers and practitioners can adopt:
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Portfolios of recent work
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Observed practice and technical assessments
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Simulation-based evaluation
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Short, verifiable CPD and micro-credentials
For those performing compliance-critical duties, recency requirements and proportionate revalidation cycles may be needed.
Transparent declaration and proportionate oversight
Clients and regulators should have confidence in who is competent to do what. Proportionate audit – particularly for higher-risk activities – provides assurance without burden.
Firms also need robust internal controls so managers can allocate appropriately skilled practitioners and log the supervision provided.
What this means for education, employers and professional bodies
Strengthening and evidencing technical competence requires aligned action across the system.
- Educators can map curricula and exit standards to current competency frameworks, offering graduates a clearer pathway to early practice competence.
- Employers should invest in upskilling, maintain skills matrices, and ensure ‘human-in-the-loop’ oversight where automation or digital tools are used.
- Professional bodies can collaborate on cross-cutting competencies and shift CPD from attendance-based models to outcome-based, demonstrable competence.
The new building safety regime has rightly sharpened expectations of competence for duty holders. Yet the imperative goes far wider. Digital construction, modern materials and new delivery models introduce new risks and new opportunities. A dynamic competence model ensures safe innovation and sustained public trust.
How BEFA will strengthen competency across the built environment
Competence assurance should not become a compliance burden – it should be a mechanism that keeps practitioners effective, confident and trusted.
BEFA aims to support a future-ready workforce by:
1. Creating a cross-industry competency map
BEFA intends to facilitate the development of a sector-wide map of core and role-specific competencies. This will reflect contemporary practice, align expectations across disciplines and enable easier mobility, collaboration and mutual recognition.
2. Proposing proportionate revalidation and evidence models
BEFA may outline practical templates for revalidation, micro-credentials and evidence portfolios – helping organisations adopt robust yet manageable approaches to demonstrating competence.
3. Sharing best practice in digital tools and technical assurance
By curating case studies, BEFA will highlight effective use of digital tools, documentation and supervision models that build technical capability and manage liability.
A renewed focus on competency, technical capability and credible assurance is essential for a safe, resilient and innovative built environment sector. BEFA will help lead this shift – championing a system where competence is current, clear, and consistently demonstrated.
