The second refined and adapted the draft standards that were drawn up as a result. Then the draft national occupational standards were tested in pilot studies at six sites, selected to reflect the wide range of roles carried out by forecasters and observers. The results were appraised at a workshop involving the originators of the standards and those who had tested them. A body set up for the purpose by the DfEE, the Scottish Executive and equivalent agencies in Wales and Northern Ireland provided that approval. The whole process took a year to complete.
Assessment centres handle registrations and assess the competence of candidates.
In principle, any organisation can perform this function. An approved centre must demonstrate that it has in place systems designed to support you and meet a set of national criteria for assessment centres. In addition, centres must understand what forecasters and observers are required to do. To fulfil their role each assessment centre will employ or appoint at least one internal verifier and one or more assessors . All have to demonstrate their competence against national occupational standards for their respective jobs.