The updated Mandatory Technical Competencies (MTC) – the standards that define what competent solid fuel and biomass work looks like under Self-Certification Schemes – have been published. HETAS has been at the centre of this work, chairing the solid fuel and biomass working group taking it forward.
What are the Mandatory Technical Competencies?
Read our full explainer on what the MTCs are, why the framework is moving from Minimum to Mandatory, and what it means for solid fuel and biomass professionals.
Alongside work on the MTCs, HETAS is represented on the Construction Leadership Council’s Sector Licensing Group, a broader workstream looking at transferable skills and role boundaries across related trades. The two pieces of work sit at different stages and have different scopes, but both feed into the same wider picture of how competence is defined, assessed, and maintained across the sector.
Alan Young, HETAS Head of Quality and Assurance:
“The updated MTCs are the most significant development our sector has seen in years. They will define what competency looks like for solid fuel and biomass professionals – the foundation which training standards, assessment frameworks, and registration requirements for Self-Certification schemes are built.
“HETAS has been central to this work from the outset, and we chair the solid fuel and biomass working group.
“Our focus remains on making sure the MTCs land in a way that works for everyone in industry. How sweeping and maintenance sit within the framework alongside installation is still being worked through, and it is a conversation we are actively pushing forward.
“We are also represented in the Construction Leadership Council’s Sector Licensing Group – a different scope and a different stage, but we understand its importance and the necessity of us being involved. We are committed to engaging across the landscape to ensure the highest standards are upheld.
“As the MTCs have now been published, we are now at the implementation stage. This will bring in trainers and assessors – turning the MTCs into something that translates directly into what registered professionals will need to demonstrate, and how. We will keep registrants updated as that develops.”
