Information for employers

Qualifications Wales’ review of qualifications in the construction and built environment sector found that a number of changes should be made to the qualifications to make sure that they meet the needs of both learners and employers in Wales.

The new qualifications will reduce complexity and raise the quality of the learning outcomes and experience. CITB, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association for Wales, the Federation for Master Builders, National Federation of Builders (NFB), Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) and the Building Services Engineering Services Association (BESA) are fully supportive of this vision and are active partners in the development process.

The new qualifications at Level 2 will be available for first teaching from 1 September 2021, and Level 3 from September 2022.

Your organisation may be affected in the following ways:

• From 2021, the new qualifications will be available for public funding for 16-19 year olds and will be the only Level 2 and Level 3 Construction and Building Services Engineering qualifications available for public funding in Wales (with the exception of Level 1 provision and some specialist qualifications);
• The subject content, structure and size of the new qualifications may differ from those currently available.

The new qualifications will be available to learners who register for study on, or after, 1 September 2021. Current qualifications will continue to be funded for registrations made up until September 2021 and there will be a transition period to allow learners who are already working towards a qualification to be able to complete their study. If your employee is already working towards a qualification, their learning will not be affected and they will continue their study until they complete their qualification.

If your organisation is interested in getting involved in the qualification development process please email qualdevelopment@cityandguilds.com.

We are working with a wide range of sector representatives, and Qualifications Wales, to ensure that the qualifications contain relevant and up-to-date content to develop the knowledge, skills and competence needed within the construction and built environment workplace. Additionally, the introduction of the ‘Foundation’ and ‘Progression’ qualifications will ensure that all learners develop the key knowledge and understanding.

We are working with card scheme organisations to plan how these learners can be eligible for a Skills Card to allow them on site. Learners moving from the progression qualification onto the apprenticeship will allow them to put their knowledge and understanding into practice to build competency in the workplace.

Existing qualifications will continue to be valued and recognised, but continuing professional development is important to ensure that workers stay up to date with their knowledge and skills development. Some upskilling of staff may be required in areas such as emerging technologies and the repair and maintenance of pre-1919 buildings.

City & Guilds and EAL have developed this Skills for Wales website as a single source of information for these developing qualifications.

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