Somerset College

Summary

Carpenters and joiners make and install the wooden fixtures and fittings found in domestic and commercial construction projects. These can include floorboards, kitchen and bathroom units, window frames and doors, roof trusses and wall partitions.  Site Carpenters, as the title suggests, tend to work outside on site and Bench Joiners can be workshop based.

The NVQ is delivered via On Site Assessment and Training (OSAT) which helps candidates turn their existing skills and experience into a nationally recognised qualification and they only train towards the things they don't know how to do.

OSAT benefits the employer by ensuring limited loss of production and a qualification within 1 year (quite often, the NVQ can be achieved as quickly as 4 months!).  Upon certification the candidate will be eligible for a CSCS card.  The CSCS card is a mandatory requirement on many construction sites.

Description

The college is tasked by the Government to ensure that the candidate has a safe and healthy work placement.  The college will allocate an assessor who will meet with the candidate and the employer to complete the sign-up documentation and carry out a health and safety in the workplace check; they will also need to see a current employer's liability certificate. 

The candidate will need to have the relevant work opportunities to collect NVQ evidence and complete their portfolio, meeting qualification requirements.  They will need their employer's support to do this.

The assessor will carry out regular reviews and observations at an agreed time and whilst copies of these visits are given to the candidate, progress reports can also be supplied to the employer upon request.

Dickies Workwear (UK) Ltd sponsors of staff workwear for this course.

Teaching and Assesment

In addition to building a portfolio of evidence the candidate will be assessed using a range of different methods which could include observations, photographic evidence or question papers.  The candidate will also need to pass the CSCS Operatives Health & Safety test (or have passed it no more than 2 years ago).

This NVQ is separated into 2 different routes, Bench Joinery and Site Carpentry.  There are a number of mandatory units covering health & safety and efficient work practice.  There are also a number of optional units relevant to each route.  During sign-up the college assessor will discuss the individual needs with the candidate and employer and advise the most suitable route to be completed.

Career Opportunities

NVQs develop competent, motivated employees. They demonstrate the high level of employer commitment to the employee and improve the company's image and attractiveness for current and prospective employees. They encourage staff to remain with the company, reducing staff turnover and the cost of recruitment.

Successful candidates will be qualified, competent employees, who do the job better, complete work faster, have fewer accidents, and waste less time correcting mistakes.

Entry Requirements

Candidates need to meet the NVQ skill criteria based on their past 3 year's experience, this profile match is carried out by the college assessor who will advise upon further training required if the criteria is not fully met.

Cost

Train to Gain funding and contributions to wage costs may be available under the Government scheme.

Somerset College is an approved training provider for this scheme. Train to Gain is a Government-led initiative, in conjunction with the Learning Skills Council.

Contact

For further guidance and advice including possible funding please contact the Somerset Centre for Enterprise on 01823 366 555 or email enterprise@somerset.ac.uk