As part of the ongoing industry drive to improve construction skills, the Joint Award Body (JAB) Partnership today (Friday, November 14) launched three new higher level National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) covering project management, site inspection, and planning supervision.
The JAB - comprising awarding body Edexcel, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), and associate partners Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC) and British Institute of Architectural Technologists, BIAT - represents a unique partnership between awarding body and leading professional bodies, and has now been operating for five years.
Speaking at the launch, CIOB President Colin Busby said that the new awards have been introduced to continue the JAB's work in certifying the competence of construction staff.
"This provides the industry with the means to demonstrate that it has a highly skilled, highly competent workforce," he added.
The three new NVQs are Level 5 in Construction Project Management; Level 4 in Site Inspection; and Level 4 in Planning Supervision (CDM), though this is awaiting accreditation from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority at time of launch.
Outlining the three NVQs, Edexcel's Qualification Leader, Colin Dobson, said that they illustrated the value of strong professional body involvement with the joint awarding body and employer centres.
"These NVQs demonstrate how successfully the JAB has established itself as the leading awarding body at this level, and that is down to the buy-in and commitment of the professional bodies in creating qualifications by the industry for the industry," he said.
For the Construction Project Management NVQ (Level 5), candidates will need to provide evidence of a range of management and technical skills, including product brief, delivery plan, risk evaluation, project design, health and safety, procurement, project control and commissioning.
The Site Inspection NVQ (Level 4) will be awarded to those able to manage inspection procedures, record and report methods and confirm compliance with specified quality, quantities, health and safety regulations, statutory requirements and national standards.
Candidates for the Planning Supervision (CDM) NVQ Level 4 are expected to have substantial knowledge and experience in their own sector specialism and to have extended it to the planning supervision function.
Since inception the JAB has built up over 250 assessment centre approvals and achieved 4,000 registrations with some 20 NVQs. Over 1,200 NVQs and more than 9,900 units have been gained. The awarding body plans to extend employer participation further with further associate partners joining. These include the Association for Project Management (APM); the Association of Planning Supervisors (APS) and the Institute of Clerks of Works (ICWGB).
