At Hazardex Live 2026, CompEx Managing Director Huw Bement will be speaking about global competence and how the organisation goes about creating internationally relevant and credible assessments.

Competency assessment in safety-critical disciplines has traditionally relied on standardised, periodic certification aligned to national regulations and technical standards. CompEx provides a pertinent case study of how such models are evolving. While historically associated with the oil and gas industry through its Ex01–Ex04 modules, CompEx is often perceived as being UK centric.

CompEx has already undertaken significant transformation, by developing equivalent programmes that support regulatory requirements such as DSEAR and ATEX, as well as international IEC and ISO standards in addition to national requirements specified in the National Electrical Code. Given that job roles and underpinning occupational qualifications and skills vary significantly across the world, the presentation asks how competency certification schemes could support workforce development which is both relevant and accessible.

The presentation also examines how future competency frameworks can balance global applicability with technical and regulatory credibility. It discusses the important assessment principles of validity, authenticity, reliability, currency and sufficiency, to support relevance and credibility. This theme is expanded to highlight the role of independent, third-party assessment, continuous professional development, and evidence-based judgement in sustaining competence over time.

About the speaker:

Huw Bement has a background in a range of sales, marketing, product development and commercial roles. He has worked at board level in industries including construction, renewables and FMCG. More recently he has been involved in developing temporary hybrid energy systems, and digital asset monitoring for UK and international customers. Huw joined CompEx in January 2020 and as Managing Director his focus is on the delivery of world class qualifications, developing digital capability and increasing the international reach of the scheme.