NEW SKILLS STANDARDS AVAILABLE TO HELP MANAGE FLOOD RISK

New Standards to help manage environmental incidents are now available online, it was announced today (3 June) by Lantra Sector Skills Council, following an extensive review of the jobs, skills and activities people carry out within flood risk management.

Floods have a major impact on the countryside, tourism and peoples’ day to day lives, making flood prevention one of the nation's top priorities. The 2007 Pitt Review called for urgent and fundamental changes in the way the country is adapting to the increased risk of flooding. A critical step forward to this is ensuring Local Authorities have the most up-to-date knowledge and skills to manage the environment. So Lantra Sector Skills Council has been working with Defra, the Environment Agency and various Local Authorities, to develop new National Occupational Standards (NOS for short) in Flood Risk Management. Michael Smith, Lantra’s Director of Policy, Research and Development said: “Flood risk management is essential for planning and is now a requirement in many environmental jobs. Lantra has lead on the development of these new Standards, which spell out what someone needs to know and be able to do to perform a job in flood risk management successfully. “The new Standards are a great tool to use in the workplace as they can be used to identify the skills needed, highlight best practice, develop training and recruitment plans, develop job descriptions and they also form the basis of qualifications. The review was a critical process as it determines what qualifications will look like for the next three years.” The new Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which received Royal Assent in April, has given Local Authorities new responsibilities to manage local flood risk. It requires Local Authorities to develop additional skills and capacity, including understanding what influences risk in their areas and how it can best be managed. Michael concluded: “The NOS aim to help Local Authorities ensure that staff have the basic skills required to play their role in managing flood and coastal erosion risk. It is the first step to enable them to develop a career within Local Authorities helping reduce flood risk to local communities. “The new Standards are now ready for use in the development of qualifications and relevant training programmes so I strongly recommend Local Authorities download their free copy and start using them today.” For your free copy of the Flood Risk Management National Occupational Standards, please visit www.lantra.co.uk/approved-nos or call Lantra for more information on 02476 858 424. ENDS Issued by: Caroline Judd, Lantra Press Office – contact media@lantra.co.uk or call 02476 858 407. NOTES TO EDITOR: National Occupational Standards National Occupational Standards offer a framework for good employment practice in industry and define the skills, knowledge and experience required to work in the industry. They provide a tool for small and micro businesses, employers, careers advisors and trainers to benchmark and assess what skills are required to do a job. About Lantra • Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector, is licensed by the UK government to drive forward the new skills, training and business development agenda for the sector. • Lantra represents 17 industries and 1.5 million workers and volunteers in agricultural crops, agricultural livestock, animal care, animal technology, aquaculture, environmental conservation, equine, farriery, fencing, fisheries management, floristry, game and wildlife management, land-based engineering, landscape, production horticulture, trees and timber and veterinary nursing. For more information see www.lantra.co.uk.

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