You Are Here: Bricklaying Courses > Experienced Worker Practical Assessment (EWPA)
Bricklaying EWPA Qualification Route from Able Skills
Able Skills has approval from Construction Awards Alliance and City & Guilds to help time served Bricklayers to gain the qualification which they have previously not had the time or opportunity to obtain, an NVQ.
There are many Bricklayers working within the industry who are amazingly competent in their skills but have never been formally assessed in order to be awarded a nationally recognised qualification – an NVQ.
EWPA – Experienced Worker Practical Assessment is available as a fast track qualification option and with the right evidence in place, can be achieved in as little as 2 days, usually at weekends.
We have all of the required assessment procedures in place, the staff, the facilities and the support and guidance to help you obtain A Bricklaying NVQ, a requirement for any construction site worker for 2010.
Candidate Criteria
The criteria for all EWPA candidates include:
- Being site experienced in all the stated skills of the Bricklaying NVQ
- Having sufficient experience of the skills of the NVQ, so that planning your working day, problem solving and decision making and working to deadlines (with regard to bricklaying) are a usual day-to-day activity
- An ability to cope with the demands of an intensive practical assessment process
- An ability to work safely at all times
- An ability to discuss your work activities with others
The following mandatory units make up the level 2 NVQ:
VR01: Conform to general workplace safety
VR02: Conform to efficient work practices
VR03: Move and handle resources
VR40: Erect masonry structures
VR41: Set out masonry structures
Supported by TWO optional units from:
VR42: Erect masonry cladding
VR43: Lay domestic drainage
VR44: Erect thin joint masonry structures
VR45: Place and finish non specialist concrete
VR46: Plaster and render surfaces
VR47: Maintain slate and tile roofing
VR50: Repair and maintain masonry structures
This is a fast route open through the CAA-ConstructionSkills / City & Guilds awarding body. It is available for workers with a minimum of five years experience and who don’t need any further Bricklaying training.
The whole process can be completed quite quickly if all evidence is in place and to start, you will undertake a profiling session with our Bricklaying assessor who will skill match you to identify your suitability for this NVQ fast track route.
If you are successful at the profiling stage, we will then arrange for you to come back to Able Skills Construction Training Centre whereby you will undertake a practical task as set by Construction Awards Alliance and a recorded Professional Discussion; this can be arranged for weekends if you are unavailable through the week.
You may also be required to obtain additional evidence: Witness testimonies, work records or photographic evidence etc to support the fact that you are an experienced Bricklayer.
All the skills and evidence needed to pass the Bricklaying NVQ are included in the one practical task, this is observed by our approved Bricklaying assessor and photographic evidence is built for lasting evidence of the entire procedure.
The 4 Steps of EWPA
Step 1: Upon contacting Able Skills, we will arrange a profiling appointment for you and make recommendations of the kind of information and evidence you may wish to bring along to support your application as an experienced bricklayer
Step 2: At your profiling appointment our bricklaying assessor will introduce you to the process and make an initial assessment to ensure you are suitable to qualify through this method. They will look over any items of ‘evidence’ you may have with you, evidence you provide can be in a written form, such as witness statements from customers or supervisors worked with in the past, or it can take the form of photographs of your work, site plans, qualifications or proof of employment. If there is insufficient evidence but it is clear that you are a competent bricklayer, you will be advised of what additional evidence is required. You will also be required to sit a health & safety test for your CSCS card if you haven’t done so already.
Step 3: Once all of the required portfolio evidence is complete, you will undertake a practical assessment of your skills which will be observed by our Bricklaying assessor. This will be followed by a recorded professional discussion to assess your knowledge of Bricklaying; we will aim to complete this process over a period of 2 days which can be weekends.
Step 4: If you are successful, you will receive your full, Experienced Worker CSCS card and your NVQ certificate. If you do not pass the assessment all is not lost: the work you have done can still count towards your qualification through OSAT.
Whether you are looking to gain an NVQ for the purposes of obtaining an Experienced Worker CSCS card or if you are considering emigrating and taking your Bricklaying skills to another country, this experienced worker fast track option is a fantastic route to gaining that all important qualification. This is an opportunity for you to have the paperwork that is sometimes an official requirement to prove that you are an experienced and skilled Bricklayer.
Funding for Bricklaying NVQs
There is funding available for anyone looking to undertake their first full level 2 qualification; this is subject to certain criteria being met.
Staff at Able Skills will be happy to establish your eligibility or you can visit: http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/Helping_Your_Business/eligible/ for full details on how train to gain may help you gain the qualification you are lacking.
For more information, help and advice, please phone us on 0808 100 3245
Or for more information please Email us.
For people travelling longer distances Able Skills Ltd can provide their own reasonably priced accommodation on request or at the time of booking.
