The Building Safety Act has shifted the landscape for Tier 1 contractors. No longer is it enough to assume that qualifications or toolbox talks equal competence. Clients and Tier 1s must now demonstrate — and evidence — that every operative and subcontractor meets the standard of SKEB: Skills, Knowledge, Experience, and Behaviours.

The challenge? UK construction sites are increasingly multilingual and complex. Over 40% of the workforce on some London projects, for example, are non-native English speakers. Add multiple subcontractor layers, and the risk of communication gaps, inconsistent training, and competence failures multiply.

So, how can principal contractors take control? Let’s break it down.

1. Understand what SKEB really means

Under the Building Safety Act, competence is defined as a blend of four elements — not just technical qualifications. Principal contractors must be able to evidence all four:

• Skills – the ability to perform tasks to the manufacturer’s specification, e.g. installing a fire-stopping system correctly the first time.

• Knowledge – understanding the system, regulations, and warranty requirements behind the task, not just “how” but also “why.”

• Experience – applying those skills consistently in live site conditions, often under pressure or with incomplete information.

• Behaviours – the hardest to measure, but the most critical: following safety protocols, refusing unsafe shortcuts, and communicating issues before they escalate.
  
  
  

For principal contractors, behaviours are often the weakest link. A single operative deciding to “make it fit” rather than follow installation guidance can expose the entire project to regulatory breach, warranty loss, and reputational damage.

2. Acknowledge the multilingual reality of sites

When crews speak five or more languages, English-only inductions or toolbox talks are not enough. Relying on translators or bilingual supervisors helps in the moment, but it leaves gaps. Lost in translation often means lost compliance: missed instruction on fire stopping or fixings can put you in breach of the BSA and wipe out product warranties.

Forward-thinking Tier 1s are recognising this as both a risk and an opportunity: investing in multilingual construction training raises competence across sites, protects your reputation and profits from remediation costs.

3. Build competence into your supply chain management

The Building Safety Act requires Tier 1s to prove not just their own competence, but their ability to manage it across every subcontractor - effective principal contractor competence management. In practice, that means: 

• Evidence up front — workers must show competence before setting foot on site.

• Proactive gap-closing — don’t wait for errors; train before mistakes happen.

• A full audit trail — every step documented to feed the golden thread.

This is where many contractors stumble. CSCS cards, CVs and one-off inductions don’t demonstrate competence for a specific project or system — and regulators know it.

4. Make training practical, product-specific, and auditable

Generic safety training won’t satisfy regulators or clients. For fire stopping especially, operatives must prove competence in:

• The exact systems and materials they install — from cavity barriers to fire-rated partitions, following manufacturer specs to the letter.

• The correct behaviours to maintain compliance and warranties.

Auditable training records aren’t just admin.They are evidence that protects Tier 1 contractors when regulators or clients demand proof that that organisational competence was built into the project from the start.

5. Use technology to bridge the gap

Here’s where solutions like Werk come in. Werk delivers Building Safety Act workforce training in any language:

• Deliver training and assessments in any language, on demand.

• Align training with specific products and manufacturer standards.

• Assess not just knowledge, but behaviours through scenario-based tasks.

• Maintain a digital audit trail that plugs directly into your golden thread.

• Identify and close skill gaps in subcontractors before they reach the site.
  
  

The result: fewer installation errors, fewer delays, and demonstrable compliance — backed by evidence that stands up to clients, regulators, and insurers.

The bottom line for Tier 1s

Competence is now a board-level issue. The contractors who thrive and win the best projects will be those who can prove SKEB across their supply chain 

By making training clear, practical, and in every language, principal contractors can reduce risk, protect their margins, and set themselves apart in a market where compliance and quality are under the microscope.