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Tiling EWPA Qualification Route from Able Skills
Experienced Worker Practical Assessment is a route now open to all time served Tilers who have spent years working in the industry, covering all aspects of tiling but who have never gained a Tiling qualification to reflect their skills.
As 2010 is fast approaching and all site workers will be required to hold relevant CSCS cards, NVQs have never been more important. Without the NVQ you are unable to gain the Experienced worker card which confirms your status as a Tiler and without the card, you will be unable to work on any site.
This new fast track route to a Tiling NVQ provides all time served Tilers with the opportunity to gain the required Tiling qualification. This route will not affect your current work as the award, with the right evidence in place, can be achieved in as little as 2 days, usually at weekends. There is no requirement to stop work, no requirement for on site assessments and no requirement to attend college for 2 years.
EWPA – Experienced Worker Practical Assessment is a fast track qualification route available to skilled workers such as experienced Tilers and Able Skills has all of the required assessment procedures in place to help you obtain a Tiling NVQ.
Our Tiling Centre has a designated assessment area ready for you to demonstrate your skills to the requirements of the Tiling NVQ with the staff, the facilities and guidance to support you through this process.
Tiling Candidate Criteria
The criteria for EWPA Tiling candidates include:
- Being site experienced in all the stated skills of the Tiling 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 Tiling) 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
VR141: Prepare backgrounds for tiling
VR142: Tile wall and floor surfaces
Additional units are: (Not Compulsory)
VR149: Lay under tile heating systems and tile surfaces
VR402W: Slinging ans signalling the movement of loads
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 Tiling 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 Tiling 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 Tiler.
All the skills and evidence needed to pass the Tiling NVQ are included in the one practical task, this is observed by our approved Tiling 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 Tiler.
Step 2: At your profiling appointment our Tiling 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 Tiler, 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 Tiling assessor. This will be followed by a recorded professional discussion to assess your knowledge of Tiling; 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 a Tiling NVQ for the purposes of obtaining an Experienced Worker CSCS card or if you are considering emigrating and taking your Tiling 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 Tiler.
Funding for Tiling 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.
