We find ourselves in the ridiculous position of social housing organisations, and by extension their contractors, must demonstrate collective and individual competency to safely carry out the maintenance and repairs of their housing stock without any clear guidance on what proof of competency may look like in a sector where such qualifications have not been required or provided for in the past.

The regulators delegate the competency definition to the service providers. When the latter look to the sector's fragmented selection of institutions and trade associations to deliver credible training and competency solutions, they find a collection of specialised and competing offers that often fall far short of the workable solution required.

We have started campaigning for a more rationale approach to this problem. Most regions tend to have several dominant social housing organisations, and they often draw upon the same local pool of construction firms and individuals to either engage them as contractors or employees.

It make sense therefore for those at the top of the supply chain to come together and define what competency qualifications they will collectively recognise, and make that information available publicly. All the trainers can then focus on delivering the necessary training programmes, and the workers can concentrate on acquiring the 'passport' competency qualifications looked for by the engagers in that local supply chain.