The UK Resilience Academy (part of the Government’s Cabinet Office) has launched a national stakeholder consultation on a set of proposed occupational standards designed to strengthen strategic capability in resilience and emergency preparedness across the UK.
Developed in partnership with The Workforce Development Trust and building on the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Resilience and Emergencies published last year, the consultation sets out standards covering aspects of what senior leaders and executives must know and do to strategically anticipate, prepare for, and recover from crises.
Developed by a diverse working group, including representatives of devolved administrations, the National Police Coordination Centre, and the UK Health Security Agency among others, the proposed standards focus on systemic and chronic risk, the financial and economic dimensions of resilience, long-term strategic planning, and the role of organizational leaders in ensuring resilience is a whole of society endeavour.
The Resilience and Emergencies NOS are nationally agreed definitions of the knowledge, skills, and understanding required to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover from risks and emergencies.
The project to expand the NOS forms part of the UK Government’s wider resilience agenda, which has seen the launch of the Resilience Action Plan and the UK Resilience Academy, as well as the formation of the House of Lords’ National Resilience Committee. The consultation is open until 8th May 2026 and responses can be submitted via an online survey available here.
