How were the national occupational standards developed?
The national occupational standards were developed by the consultants, Moloney & Gealy, under the guidance of practising forecasters and observers from the Met Office, the Royal Navy and the private sector. Most of the constructive work was carried out at two workshops held at the Met Office College. The first lasted for two days and gathered basic information about the work performed by forecasters and observers. 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. Finally, they were reviewed by the Royal Meteorological Society, involving all sectors of the industry, endorsed by the Science, Technology and Mathematics Council (ST+MC), as the National Training Organisati
