Painting & Decorating Qualification Routes – Options Explained

Painting & Decorating Qualification Information and Guidance

The construction industry relies heavily on skilled people and in this day and age, skilled people with recognised qualifications.

Able Skills is a leading, quality construction training provider and assessment centre and we are committed to playing an active part in training inexperienced people to enter the industry, build on their experience and become skilled workers.

At the same time, we are also approved to assist skilled but unqualified workers to achieve the industry recognised qualifications in the most appropriate form and time span.

Painting & Decorating is a rewarding trade to work within because frequently it is these final touches which define a finished job.

In the decorating trade you can experiment with patterns and colour in new builds to match trends, use special effects whilst undertaking a refurbishment or strip back and bring back to life a piece of furniture that was ready for the skip.

The work is more varied in scope than people realise and a good Painter isn’t always an easy find. New homes, offices, extensions etc are unfinished until the Decorator arrives.

At Able Skills we have the facilities and experienced Painting & Decorating staff on hand to ensure that whatever aspect of Painting & Decorating you want to learn or need to be assessed on, you can be!

We can take you from a Painting & Decorating novice to a confident and competent Painter & Decorator if you are dedicated and can take the time to listen to instruction and learn from the experts. We can also help those that have been Painting & Decorating for many years to get the qualification that until 2010, they never needed.

City & Guilds are the leading industry recognised awarding body for construction training qualifications and Construction Awards Alliance (CAA) are the awarding body behind construction NVQs and Able Skills are approved by both to help individuals get to where they need to be within the Painting & Decorating trade.

Any Painting & Decorating training you consider undertaking should be done at a C&G or CAA approved Centre so that you can be assured that the facilities are correct, the courses are designed to progress you towards working and achieving an NVQ and more importantly, the staff are qualified as Painter & Decorators and as Assessors.

•    Able Skills CAA centre number is 5759        
•    Able Skills C&G centre number is 723054

Please visit our course details page to see which route to a Painting & Decorating qualification is most appropriate to you

For New Entrants looking for a training qualification in Painting & Decorating, Able Skills currently offers the following route:

Route 1

New Entrants– No Existing Painting & Decorating Qualifications – New for 2011

If you do not have any underpinning Painting & Decorating qualifications, we recommend the following:-

City & Guilds 6218: QCF Painting & Decorating Certificate (5 Weeks)

Unit 006 - Introducing levelling in construction
Unit 008 - Introducing paint finishing skills
Unit 112 - Developing paint finishing skills
Unit 113 - Developing surface preparation skills
Unit 114 - Developing papering  skills
Unit 206 – Expanding paint finishing skills

This Painting & Decorating course is suitable for people who are not at this moment working in the Painting & Decorating industry and who would like to obtain the required qualification to work towards becoming a professional Painter & Decorator.

To broaden your understanding of Painting & Decorating, you can add an additional 2 weeks to this to gain further understanding of the requirements of the Painting & Decorating industry and receive additional training to ensure you are fully equipped to work within the industry and gather evidence to work towards an NVQ at level 2

If you are already a Painter & Decorator but do not hold any formal qualifications, there are two routes to achieving a Painting & Decorating NVQ at level 2, dependent upon time served:

Route 1 - Existing Painter & Decorators – Less than 5 years experience

If you have underpinning qualifications or have spent less than 5 years Painting & Decorating, we recommend the following:-

On Site Assessment (OSAT)

In order to qualify and register for this Painting & Decorating NVQ, the following criteria must be met:

•    You must work within a 60 mile radius of Dartford – Postcode: DA1.
•    You  will need to be employed in a role that is related to Painting & Decorating

Able Skills can offer NVQ on site assessment to those of you who have underpinning Painting & Decorating qualifications or who have been working in the Painting & Decorating industry for less than 5 years.

We have our own Painting & Decorating Assessors and Internal Verifiers, all of whom are City & Guilds and CAA approved. As long as you are working within the Painting & Decorating Industry, we can come and assess you on site.

The process will start with an interview between you and your Painting & Decorating assessor whereby an action plan and timetable will be drawn up.

You will be required to gather and record evidence as indicated on your assessment plan and you would benefit from a work based recorder (Supervisor or foreman); this will help to confirm Painting & Decorating work which you have undertaken which an Assessor was unable to be present at.

Painting & Decorating Assessments will be at your work place whereby we will be observing you at work Painting & Decorating; we will examine and discuss any evidence you have provided.

An assessor will sign off completed units, where sufficient quality and quantity has been provided, any shortfalls of Painting & Decorating evidence will be discussed and any Painting & Decorating training requirements identified. In between visits, you will continue to generate further evidence.

The units required to achieve QUA 827 – Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Decorative Finishing and Industrial Painting Occupations (Construction) – Painter are:

Mandatory Units required: 6

QCF01 – Conforming to General Safety in the Workplace
QCF02 – Conforming to Efficient Working Practices in the workplace
QCF03 – Moving and Handling Resources in the Workplace
QCF250C – Erecting and Dismantling Access/Working Platforms in the Workplace
QCF332 – Preparing Surfaces for Painting/Decorating in the Workplace
QCF333 – Applying Paint Systems by Brush and Roller in the Workplace

Optional Units required: 0

QCF336 - Hanging Standard Paper Wallcoverings in the Workplace
QCF337 - Hanging Wide-width Vinyls in the Workplace
QCF338 - Installing Coving, Centre-pieces and Texture Products in the Workplace
QCF339 - Applying Coatings by the Airless Spray Method in the Workplace
QCF340 - Applying Coatings by the Air Spray Method in the Workplace
QCF341 - Producing Broken Colour Work and Basic Stencilling in the Workplace
QCF342 - Producing and Applying Complex Stencil Designs in the Workplace

There is no time scale on achieving a Painting & Decorating NVQ. If your line of work allows, NVQs can be achieved in a relatively short space of time however, if the work you are doing is restricted or repetitive, the NVQ process can take longer because the opportunity to meet all of the required Painting & Decorating NVQ units will not be available to you.

Route 2 - Existing Painter & Decorators – More than 5 years experience

If you have spent more than 5 years Painting & Decorating but have never gained qualifications, we recommend the following:-

The Experienced Worker Practical Assessment: EWPA

This is a fast route open through the CAA-ConstructionSkills / City & Guilds awarding body. It is available for Painter & Decorators with a minimum of five years experience and who do not need any further Painting & Decorating training.

The process involves profiling and skill matching by an Able Skills Painting & Decorating Assessor, evidence gathering, a practical Painting & Decorating assessment and a Professional Discussion. Any of these processes can be done at weekends.

All the skills needed to pass the Painting & Decorating NVQ are included in one task, which is observed by our approved Painting & Decorating Assessor.

The 4 Steps of EWPA - Your fast track route to a Painting & Decorating NVQ

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 Painter & Decorator.

Step 2: At your profiling appointment (which will last for approximately 2 hours) our Painting & Decorating 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 Painting & Decorating ‘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 Painting & Decorating work, site plans, qualifications or proof of Painting & Decorating employment.

If there is insufficient evidence but it is clear that you are a competent Painter & Decorator, you will be advised of what additional evidence is required which you will have to bring back to the Centre to undertake a review. 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 Painting & Decorating assessor.

This will be followed by a recorded professional discussion to assess your knowledge of Painting & Decorating; we will aim to complete this process over a period of 2 days, weekends are available.

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 Painting & Decorating assessment all is not lost: the work you have done can still count towards your Painting & Decorating qualification through OSAT.

Summary: Painting & Decorating Qualifications

So whether you are new to the Painting & Decorating industry, time served or somewhere in between, we feel confident that we have the right training or assessment option for you.

Whichever category you fall into, Able Skills is confident that with the quality of Painting & Decorating training we provide and staff in place, we can get you to where you need to be.

New to the Painting & Decorating Industry

Route 1 - City & Guilds 6218: QCF Painting & Decorating Certificate (5 Weeks)

(Or maybe add another 2 weeks to start the NVQ process)

Time Served Painter/Decorators

Route 1 - On Site Assessment (OSAT)

Route 2 - The Experienced Worker Practical Assessment: EWPA

Decorating Image Gallery

Book the Above Course

We are sorry but this course is not available for online booking. To book this course, please call us on 01322 280202 or use the form below: