Plastering Qualification Routes from Able Skills

New Entrants – No Existing Plastering Qualifications

If you do not have any underpinning plastering qualifications, we recommend the following:-

City & Guilds 6217-04: Plastering (6 Weeks)

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

All ICA units are related to their equivalent NVQ unit, and we will advise you what extra assessments are required to gain the related NVQ unit once you are working within the Plastering industry.

To obtain the ICA in full, you must also pass an independent Health and Safety test which will take place at your nearest D.S.A. theory test centre.

Able Skills has a dedicated Health and Safety Advisor on site who will provide you with all the training necessary to assist you with this test.

Additionally, you will also sit a separate job knowledge test; this test is set and marked by City and Guilds.

The 7 Mandatory Units you must complete to achieve this Plastering award are:

1. 016 - Repairing a patch in a plastered wall
2. 065 - Boarding and setting a ceiling in one coat
3. 066 - Applying a floating coat to wall and attached pier
4. 067 - Applying and finishing the setting coat to a floored wall and attached pier
5. 068 - Applying a floating coat to a square or rectangular column
6. 069 - Applying a floating finishing coat to a square or rectangular column
7. 070 - Scrim and skim finish with plaster

The Optional Units (2) you must complete to achieve this Plastering award are:

1. 017 - Screeding a sand and cement floor from a given level of datum point
2. 018 - Introduction to fixing floor tiles and skirting tiles
3. 071 - Applying a textured finish with border
4. 072 - Replaster over textured ceiling using bonding agent
5. 073 - Applying a plain rendering and finish with a wood float
6. 074 - Applying a Tyrolean hand machine finish to a prepared wall
7. 075 - Fixing bell cast bead and applying scratch coats to wall areas
8. 076 - Applying pebble dash finish to a prepared wall

To broaden your understanding of plastering, you can add an additional 2 weeks to this to gain further understanding of the requirements of the 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.

Existing Plasterers – Less than 5 years experience

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

NVQ Route – On Site Assessment

In order to qualify and register for this plastering 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 plastering

These qualifications (NVQs) focus on practical skills and knowledge. Developed and approved by people who work in the industry, they are a great way to get into construction or to boost your career by developing new skills and knowledge through the assessment of work based competence.

Able Skills can offer NVQ on site assessment to those of you who have underpinning qualifications or who have been working in the industry for less than 5 years. We have our own Assessors and Internal Verifiers, all of whom are City & Guilds and CAA approved. As long as you are working within the Plastering Industry, we can come and assess you on site.

The process will start with an interview between you and your 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 work which you have undertaken which an Assessor was able to be present at.

Assessments will be at your work place whereby we will be observing you at work plastering; 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 evidence will be discussed and any training requirements identified. In between visits, you will continue to generate further evidence. The units required to achieve an NVQ are:

Mandatory Units:

• VR01 Conform to General Workplace Safety
• VR02 Conform to Efficient Work Practices
• VR03 Move and Handle Resources
• VR66: Produce Internal Solid Plastering Finishes
• VR67: Produce External Solid Render Finishes

Any 2 optional Units from:

• VR65 Apply Finishing Plaster to Background Surfaces
• VR68 Install Direct Bond Dry Linings
• VR69 Lay Sand and Cement Screeds
• VR70 Apply Projection Plaster and Maintain Equipment
• VR71 Install Mechanically Fixed Plasterboard

Existing Plasterers – More than 5 years experience

If you have spent more than 5 years plastering 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 workers with a minimum of five years experience and who do not need any further training.

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

All the skills needed to complete the NVQ are included in the final practical task, which is observed by our approved plastering assessor. NVQ units are as follows:

Mandatory Units:

• VR01 Conform to General Workplace Safety
• VR02 Conform to Efficient Work Practices
• VR03 Move and Handle Resources
• VR66: Produce Internal Solid Plastering Finishes
• VR67: Produce External Solid Render Finishes

Any 2 optional Units from:

• VR65 Apply Finishing Plaster to Background Surfaces
• VR68 Install Direct Bond Dry Linings
• VR69 Lay Sand and Cement Screeds
• VR70 Apply Projection Plaster and Maintain Equipment
• VR71 Install Mechanically Fixed Plasterboard

The 4 Steps of EWPA

Step 1: Following your first call to us, we will arrange for you to attend your profiling and skill matching appointment. It would support you greatly if you could bring some items of ‘evidence’ 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.

Step 2: At this profiling appointment, an assessor will introduce you to the process and make an initial assessment to ensure you are suitable to qualify through this method. He will look at any evidence you have provided, identify training needs (if any) and arrange a possible review date or more likely, a date for you to undertake your practical assessment. You will also need to undertake a CSCS Health & Safety test if you haven’t done so already.

Step 3: You will undertake a practical assessment of your skills which will be observed by the assessor. This will be followed by professional discussion to further assess your knowledge of the subject. This will be over a period of 2 days.

Step 4: If you are successful, you should receive your full CSCS card within 7 working days and your NVQ certificate will also arrive a few weeks later. If you do not pass the assessment all is not lost: the work you have done can still count towards your qualification through OSAT.