Experienced Carpenters who need NVQ

If you are an experienced, time served Carpenter but have no qualifications to confirm this, this quick route to NVQ level 2 may be the answer you are looking for. No site assessments are required, just a profiling session here at Able Skills, some evidence gathering by you and then a practical test to confirm your competence. This will help you with getting the right CSCS card and gain you access to site work as a Carpenter rather than as a labourer.

If you have been working as a Carpenter for quite some time and you are competent in your carpentry ability and have a very good general knowledge in all areas of carpentry, then come along to Able Skills to meet with one of our carpentry Assessors to discuss your route to gaining a carpentry qualification. A short meeting to establish your competence could put you well on your way to obtaining a carpentry NVQ, a requirement for any construction site worker. We have all of the required assessment procedures in place: qualified staff, excellent facilities and all of the support and guidance to help you obtain a carpentry NVQ.

With the requirement for all site workers to hold Experienced Worker cards or Skilled Worker cards, the need for experienced tradesmen to gain NVQs has never been more important. Without the right qualification, you will be unable to gain access to site to undertake your work as a Carpenter.

To help deal with this issue, NOCN (Formerly Construction Skills) has developed a fast track programme for thoseexperienced Carpentersto achieve NVQ without the need for site visits:EWPA = Experienced Worker Practical Assessment

This route is available for workers with a minimum of five years carpentry experience and who do not need any further carpentry training.All candidates must:

• Be site experienced in all the stated skills of the carpentry NVQ
• Have 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 carpentry) are a usual day-to-day activity
• Have an ability to cope with the demands of an intensive practical assessment process
• Have an ability to work safely at all times
• Have an ability to discuss your work activities with others

This fast track route is non complicated and can be completed in a relatively short time frame if all of the evidence required is readily available.

Regardless of whether you are looking to gain a carpentry NVQ for the purposes of obtaining a Skilled Worker CSCS card or if you are considering emigrating and taking your carpentry skills to another country; this experienced worker fast track option is a fantastic route to gaining that all important tiling qualification.

EWPA - Experienced Worker Practical Assessment

Upon contacting Able Skills, we will email you a pre-assessment questionnaire (Skills Scan) to ensure that you have the knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of this NVQ. Following on from this, we will arrange for you to attend a profiling session with any evidence that you may have to confirm your status as a time served Carpenter. It could be that there will be additional information that you will need to provide and guidance on this will be provided at the time of profiling. Once the Assessor has all of the evidence required and we have validated witness testimonies where appropriate, we will arrange for you to come in and undertake a practical assessment and a recorded professional discussion.

If you are successful, you will receive your NVQ certificate through the post in a relatively short period of time. If you do not pass the assessment all is not lost: the work you have done can still count towards your qualification through OSAT.

The following mandatory units make up theQUA900 L2 NVQ Diploma in Wood Occupations (Construction) - Site Carpentryand you will be required to provide evidence of:

• QCF 641:Conforming to General Health, Safety and Welfare in the Workplace
• QCF 642:Conforming to Productive Working Practices in the Workplace
• QCF 643:Moving, Handling and Storing Resources in the Workplace

Supported by THREE optional units from:

• QCF09av3: Installing First Fixing Components in the Workplace
• QCF10av3: Installing Second Fixing Components in the Workplace
• QCF11v3: Erecting Structural Carcassing Components in the Workplace
• QCF12v3: Maintaining Non-structural Carpentry Work in the Workplace
• QCF628av3: Setting Up and Using Transportable Cutting and Shaping Machines in the Workplace

The entire Carpentry EWPA process can be completed quite quickly if all of the evidence is in place.

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 Carpenter. NVQs are now the requirement for any site based employment, without the qualification and the CSCS card, you will not be able to continue working in the way that you have been.

CSCS and EWPA

Registering for this EWPA NVQ route will initially generate a:Red Card - EXPERIENCED WORKER. Registration will take place at profiling stage and as long as you sit/have sat a Construction Skills health and safety test, you can apply for the Experienced Worker card.

The card is issued on a temporary basis, while the NVQ is being achieved. The card is valid for one year and is non-renewable. An Experienced Worker Card cannot be replaced by a Construction Site Operative or a Basic Skills Green Card.

Once you have successfully completed the EWPA process and achieved the NVQ level 2, you can apply for aSKILLED WORKER Blue Card (again subject to you having sat a CSCS test).

All aspects of the NVQ process will take place at our dedicated training centre in Dartford, Kent. The centre is easily accessible by road, being just 10 minutes from junction 1a on the M25. We are only a short walk from Dartford train station which is served by frequent trains taking 35 minutes from central London. For anyone travelling from further away, we have our own accommodation available at only £25 per night.

We are open 7 days a week (08.30 16.30) for visitors so if you would like to find out more about this course or about Able Skills, please feel free to pop in, no appointment necessary.

The cost to achieve this Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Wood Occupations (Construction) - Site Carpentry via this EWPA route is £1500 including vat.