Diploma in Construction Site Supervision

The Diploma is a competency based qualification which you’ll need to obtain a gold cscs card. You may not need this in your current role but if you want to work for a site based contractor or subcontractor in the future it will be invaluable.

You only need to do the NVQ if you need or want a CSCS gold card.

You still need to do the Site Supervision NVQ

The courses are for those already employed in the role so there is a fair degree of flexibility. The course providers are commercial entities and want your money at the end of the day so they will be very accommodating.

The NVQ is needed to get a Gold Supervisor’s Card. It isn’t going to hurt but since you already have a black card there doesn’t seem to be much point unless you want to hold a gold card as well?
I’m assuming you’ll be able to renew the black card though.

You need to do the Site Supervision NVQ detailed above. This is a work based certification so you need to be working as a supervisor in a relevant occupation to do it. You’ll also need to complete the relevant Health, Safety and Environment Test and, of course, pay the fees.

It’s worth stressing that it’s almost impossible to get a Supervisor’s Card without the cooperation of your current employer.

You can change the occupation the next time you renew your card. You can renew at any time or wait until nearer the expiry date. It shouldn’t make any difference unless a particular employer or main contractor wants to be difficult about it?

There is no requirement to do the SMSTS unless your employer requires it. You may find it useful to enhance your future employment prospects and you may also get something out of it in terms of improving your health and safety awareness. But you don’t have to do it.

The NVQ course (as detailed above) will enable you to apply for a gold CSCS supervisors card. Whether this will be worth doing (from your employer’s point of view) will depend on the kind of work you do. It will benefit you personally though by making you more employable elsewhere.

The Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) Site Safety Plus may also be worth doing. It isn’t a qualification as such but will help you understand your responsibilities as a supervisor from a health and safety point of view. It’s also a minimum requirement for a a lot of jobs you’ll see advertised so, again, may be beneficial to your career prospects.

It depends really what kind of work the company does? If a lot of the work is for major contractors you’ll be better off going via the CSCS card route. Starting with the Diploma in Construction Site Supervision to get your gold card. Then you should think about progressing to the black card via the level 6 site management NVQ.

If they are a traditional building company or specialist contractor then a more conventional route might be applicable.

Your first step in this case would be the Construction HNC or Site Management HNC. The best place for further guidance on this would be your local higher education college.

You could approach them directly or your employer could do it themselves. All you need to do is arrange an interview with the head of the built environment dept.

You and your employer will need to define what role they have in mind for you and what your responsibilities are likely to be. Once you have done this the college should be able to point you in the right direction.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that what suits your employer may not be your best option personally (thinking long term). In this case the CSCS route and HNC combined would be the preferred option.

The first thing you need to consider is what support your current employer is going to offer you? If it’s none then your best course of action is to start looking at alternatives.

The HNC in building services or HNC in Construction are the route often taken but almost all courses are now run on a day-release basis so your current employer would have to be agreeable to this.

There is nothing to stop you applying for roles elsewhere even if you don’t have any formal qualifications. Past experience and your current job title will have a greater influence on your chances than anything else.

That said, the NVQ Diploma in Construction Site Supervision will enable you to get a gold supervisor’s CSCS card which will make it a lot easier for you to find a supervisory job elsewhere. The first aid certificate, and CITB Site Supervisors Safety Certificate or Site Managers Site Safety Certificate are also worth doing.

All of these courses can be completed within a relatively short period of time. Maybe when you get your foot in the door somewhere else you can look at doing the HNC?

The gold card, SMSTS and first aid are pretty much essential requirements now so, yes, you should obtain these as soon as you can.
(The SSSTS is OK but the manager’s card is the better option).

It is the major contractors and employment agencies who have brought about this situation. Avoiding both is, sadly, advisable if at all possible.

Your situation is very common and there isn’t a simple solution. The main reason why is that the CSCS card scheme doesn’t recognize experience or ability, it is simply a certification, of sorts, that you have a minimum level of competence for the role you are currently engaged in.

To get a supervisor’s gold card you have to be currently employed as a supervisor and you have to complete the Diploma in Site Supervision. You will not be able to do this without the support of your employer so it is him/her you need to speak to.

The system is set-up to benefit people who work in medium to large organisations where there is a normal career progression route. As you are finding, it works against the wider workforce which is largely made up of agency workers and self-employed sub-contractors.

However, the Site Supervisor NVQ requires for some role-based on-site assessment, it doesn’t require you have to be currently in this role – only that you can be assessed as if you were. Ideally, this means you’d be working as a trainee supervisor but there is no reason why, with the aid of a co-operative employer, you can’t just fit in the assessments as part of your normal working day.

This, obviously, isn’t going to be the answer for everyone but it is one way in which the system is being bypassed by private training organisations who offer the courses.

The majority of HNC courses are run on a day release basis which makes it difficult to do without your employer’s assistance. First step would be to talk to your employer about this to see if they can accommodate.

Failing this, it’s a case of finding a college that offers evening course. First stop for is your local college and, if they don’t, then they will know if any other local places do.