Construction qualifications reform

A “ground-breaking” change to qualifications for people planning to work in the construction and built environment sector in Wales has been unveiled.

“In the biggest shake-up to qualifications in the sector for a generation, a complex market with hundreds of existing qualifications will be simplified by eight new qualifications that will help reshape education and training for the industry in Wales,” Qualifications Wales announced.

The new qualifications will offer learners more flexible and comprehensive progression routes into employment, and assessment will be streamlined but more robust.

Ed Evans, director of the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association for Wales, said: “Qualifications Wales’s engagement with the sector has been really strong. That means that this starts to be led by the sector, rather than being led by educationalists.”

Qualifications Wales said that contracts have been awarded to a consortium of City and Guilds and EAL, which will be working with the regulator to design and deliver post-16 Foundation, Progression and Apprenticeship qualifications.

Qualifications Wales’s director of qualifications policy and reform, Cassy Taylor, said: “The Construction and Building Services sectors are large, diverse and a priority for Wales, and the new qualifications are being developed to meet the changing needs of the industry.

“They’ll enable workers to understand the role of new technologies in the sector, but will also give them the ability to maintain and repair the traditional buildings and structures we have in Wales.”

The post-16 qualifications include an overarching Foundation qualification in Construction and the Built Environment, and Progression and Apprenticeship qualifications in Building Services Engineering and Construction. These will be available for first teaching from September 2021.

The introduction of the new qualifications has been welcomed by industry leaders as providing learners with a broader knowledge of the industry as a whole. Sector representatives have already contributed to the development of the new qualifications, and will continue to support the development process.

Gareth Williams, standards and qualifications policy manager for the CITB in Wales, said: “CITB is looking forward to working with City and Guilds and EAL to develop new, up-to-date qualifications that will benefit both learners and the industry in Wales. The new qualifications will broaden learners’ horizons, by encouraging more employers to take an active role in developing the workforce of the future in Wales.”
Alison Parkes, managing director of EAL, said: “Through the development of qualifications for these crucial and essential industries, we recognise the important part we play in the journey of those who wish to have a career in the sector.”