If you are an experienced, time served Painter and Decorator but have no qualifications to confirm this, this quick route to NVQ level 2 may be the answer you are looking for. No site assessments are required, just a profiling session here at Able Skills, some evidence gathering by you and then a practical test to confirm your competence. This will help you with getting the right CSCS card and gain you access to site work as a Painter and Decorator rather than as a labourer.
If you have been working as a Painter for quite some time and you are competent in your painting ability and have a very good general knowledge in all areas of painting (specifically site based painting), then come along to Able Skills to meet with one of our Painting Assessors to discuss your route to gaining a Painting qualification. A short meeting to establish your competence could put you well on your way to obtaining a level 2 NVQ Diploma in Decorative Finishing and Industrial Painting Occupations, a requirement for any construction site worker. We have all of the required assessment procedures in place: qualified staff, excellent facilities and all of the support and guidance to help you obtain this level 2 NVQ Diploma.
With the requirement for all site workers to hold Experienced Worker cards or Skilled Worker cards, the need for experienced tradesmen to gain NVQs has never been more important. Without the right qualification, you will be unable to gain access to site to undertake your work as a Painter/Decorator.
To help deal with this issue, NOCN (Formerly Construction Skills) has developed a fast track programme for those experienced Painters to achieve NVQ without the need for site visits: EWPA = Experienced Worker Practical Assessment
This route is available for workers with a minimum of five years site experience and who do not need any further training. All candidates must:
Be site experienced in all the stated skills of the Painting & Decorating NVQ
Have sufficient experience of the skills of the NVQ, so that planning your working day, problem solving and decision making and working to deadlines (with regard to painting & decorating) are a usual day-to-day activity
Have an ability to cope with the demands of an intensive practical assessment process
Have an ability to work safely at all times
Have an ability to discuss your work activities with others
This fast track route is non complicated and can be completed in a relatively short time frame if all of the evidence required is readily available.
Regardless of whether you are looking to gain a painting & decorating NVQ for the purposes of obtaining a Skilled Worker CSCS card or if you are considering emigrating and taking your skills to another country; this experienced worker fast track option is a fantastic route to gaining that all important painting & decorating qualification.
Upon contacting Able Skills, we will email you a pre-assessment questionnaire (Skills Scan) to ensure that you have the knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of this NVQ. Following on from this, we will arrange for you to attend a profiling session with any evidence that you may have to confirm your status as a time served Painter & Decorator. It could be that there will be additional information that you will need to provide and guidance on this will be provided at the time of profiling. Once the Assessor has all of the evidence required and we have validated witness testimonies where appropriate, we will arrange for you to come in and undertake a practical assessment and a recorded professional discussion.
If you are successful, you will receive your NVQ certificate through the post in a relatively short period of time. If you do not pass the assessment all is not lost: the work you have done can still count towards your qualification through OSAT.
The following mandatory units make up the QUA 827 – Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Decorative Finishing and Industrial Painting Occupations – Painter and you will be required to provide evidence of:
QCF250C: Erecting and Dismantling Access/Working Platforms in the Workplace
QCF332: Preparing Surfaces for Painting/Decorating in the Workplace
QCF333Av2: Applying Paint Systems by Brush and Roller in the Workplace
QCF641: Conforming to General Health, Safety and Welfare in the Workplace
QCF642: Conforming to Productive Working Practices in the Workplace
QCF643: Moving, Handling and Storing Resources in the Workplace
The entire Painting & Decorating EWPA process can be completed quite quickly if all of the evidence is in place.
This is an opportunity for you to have the paperwork that is sometimes an official requirement to prove that you are an experienced and skilled Painter/Decorator. NVQs are now the requirement for any site based employment, without the qualification and the CSCS card, you will not be able to continue working in the way that you have been.
CSCS and EWPA
Registering for this EWPA NVQ route will initially generate a: Red Card - EXPERIENCED WORKER. Registration will take place at profiling stage and as long as you sit/have sat a Construction Skills health and safety test, you can apply for the Experienced Worker card.
The card is issued on a temporary basis, while the NVQ is being achieved. The card is valid for one year and is non-renewable. An Experienced Worker Card cannot be replaced by a Construction Site Operative or a Basic Skills Green Card.
Once you have successfully completed the EWPA process and achieved the NVQ level 2, you can apply for a SKILLED WORKER Blue Card (again – subject to you having sat a CSCS test).
Decorating Courses at Able Skills
Location
All of our courses take place at our dedicated training centre in Dartford, Kent. The centre is easily accessible by road, being just 10 minutes from junction 1a on the M25. We are only a short walk from Dartford train station which is served by frequent trains taking 35 minutes from central London. For anyone travelling from further away, we have our own accommodation available at only £25 per night.
We are open Mon - Fri and 2 weekends per month for training and visitors so if you would like to find out more about this course or about Able Skills, please feel free to pop in, no appointment necessary.
Decorating
