NHBC, warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, passed a major milestone at the start of 2021, having welcomed more than 5,000 candidates through its construction NVQ training programmes
Over recent years NHBC’s NVQ training offering has been specially tailored to provide a greater focus on key housebuilding areas, at Levels 3 to 7, mainly around Construction Site Management.
A construction NVQ is a benchmark qualification that proves occupational competence to employers.
Some NVQs, which can also be the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree, lead to membership of professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
In the next instalment of a series of case studies looking at the success of the scheme, NHBC spoke with CALA Homes’ Nicolae Botnarenco, who completed his NVQ this February…
What was the title of your NVQ course?
NVQ Level 4 in Construction Site Supervision – Residential Development (Construction).
What were the main challenges or key learnings from your course?
The main challenge was to carry out the day-to-day tasks, in addition to completing modules, answering questions and gathering evidence.
It was great to learn new technical skills and work closely with the NHBC Standards and NHBC app on my phone. Plus, I was able to record evidence while on the site near Reading, doing my work.
My assessor was really helpful and could always be reached by phone or email. In general, it was a very good experience and I’m now looking forward to completing Level 6 in the future.
Would you recommend an NHBC NVQ course to others?
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to develop and make a career in construction.
And please, can you give us an overview of your career to date?
I’ve been in construction for ten years now, working with various developers. In 2016 I was promoted from forklift driver to materials controller and then two years ago I was offered the chance to become a trainee assistant site manager at CALA, which I accepted.
I love what I do and I’m doing my best to learn and work at the same time, with the aim of achieving a Level 6 in due course.
Paul Carter, principal assessor and internal verifier at NHBC, said: “Congratulations Nicolae on completing your NVQ.
“I was the verifier for your award and can see you were a very proactive candidate, producing some great evidence.
“We hope the experience has helped broaden your understanding and given you extra confidence, enabling you to forge a successful career in construction.”
For more information on NHBC’s NVQ portfolio and to sign up, visit: https://www.nhbc.co.uk/builders/products-and-services/training/nvqs
