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Masonry Repair and Maintenance NVQ Level 2
Masonry Repair and Maintenance NVQ Level 2
Repointing, rebuilding, matching hundred-year-old work — repair masonry is diagnosis and craft together. Prove your competence with a work-based NVQ assessed on your repairs, on the typical route to the Blue Skilled Worker CSCS card. It costs £750 fixed with no VAT, typically takes 4–8 weeks with assessment carried out remotely or on site from your normal work — no exams, no classroom, and leads to the Blue Skilled Worker card.
Qualification Overview
Repair masons keep Britain’s existing buildings standing and looking right: cutting out and matching damaged brick, repointing in the correct mortar, rebuilding defective sections without disturbing what’s sound. It’s slower, more forensic work than new build — and clients from housing associations to conservation officers want it done by qualified hands. This NVQ documents your repair competence from the jobs you already do.
A CTG assessor visits your work, observes real repair and maintenance masonry, and gathers photos, witness statements and professional discussion. No exams, no classroom — assessor visits are included as standard.
You achieve the GQA Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Trowel Occupations (Construction), qualification code 610/0052/9, with masonry repair and maintenance occupational units in your registration — a unit combination within the qualification, and the typical route to the Blue Skilled Worker CSCS card.
Qualification Structure
Key information
| Full title | GQA Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Trowel Occupations (Construction) |
| Qualification code | 610/0052/9 |
| Route | Occupational unit combination — masonry repair & maintenance |
| Level | 2 |
| Awarding body | GQA |
| Price | £750 — fixed, no VAT |
| Typical completion | 4–8 weeks |
| Assessment | On-site evidence — no exams, no classroom |
| Typical CSCS route | Blue Skilled Worker |
How repair work fits the Trowel Occupations qualification
Masonry repair and maintenance is an occupational unit combination within the Level 2 Trowel Occupations qualification — mandatory masonry units plus repair-focused optional units. It is not a separate formal pathway. New-build bricklaying is covered at Bricklaying NVQ Level 2; advanced repair on complex or heritage work can progress towards the Level 3 Trowel Occupations route where your evidence supports the full Level 3 requirements.
Who this NVQ is for
Experienced repair and maintenance masons with housing maintenance, façade repair and restoration contractors. You should be working with minimal supervision. Typical evidence: assessing defective masonry and agreeing the repair extent, cutting out and replacing bricks and blocks with matched materials, repointing to the specified mortar and joint profile, rebuilding small sections to line with existing work, crack stitching where your role includes it, and protecting and cleaning finished repairs.
Entry requirements
No formal entry qualifications. You must be doing repair masonry at work now, on jobs a CTG assessor can attend. Improvers should build trade experience first — the NVQ assesses existing competence.
CSCS card route
This Level 2 NVQ is the typical qualification for the Blue Skilled Worker CSCS card, together with the relevant CITB Health, Safety & Environment test. CSCS issues the card, not CTG. See our CSCS cards guide.
Units — mandatory and optional
You achieve the GQA Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Trowel Occupations (Construction), qualification code 610/0052/9. The unit structure below comes from the official GQA specification — your assessor maps your day-to-day work to these units at enrolment.
Mandatory units
- Conforming to General Health, Safety and Welfare in the Workplace
- Conforming to Productive Working Practices in the Workplace
- Moving, Handling and Storing Resources in the Workplace
- Erecting Masonry Structures in the Workplace
- Setting out to form Masonry Structures in the Workplace
Your specialist unit
- Repairing and Maintaining Masonry Structures in the Workplace
Other optional units (minimum one from this group)
- Erecting Masonry Cladding in the Workplace
- Erect Thin Joint Masonry Structures in the Workplace
- Installing Drainage in the Workplace
- Placing and compacting concrete in the workplace
- Installing and forming specialist masonry elements in the workplace
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Masonry Repair NVQ take?
Typically 4–8 weeks, following your repair job list.
Does heritage and conservation work count?
Yes — lime mortar repointing and conservation repairs are strong evidence. Genuinely advanced heritage roles may suit the Level 3 route; we’ll advise honestly.
I also do wall tie work — same NVQ?
Remedial ties sit under the separate Insulation & Building Treatments qualification — see the Wall Tie Replacement NVQ. Many remedial masons hold both.
Can the repair team enrol together?
Yes — maintenance teams register together, each on the honest unit combination.
Rated by the people we qualify
Live Google reviews from CTG candidates and employers across the UK. Read all 52 reviews.
Entry requirements
You are already doing the work day to day, as an employee or self-employed. There are no entry qualifications and no exams — you are assessed on the job you already do.
To start Level 2 qualification you need:
- A relevant job to be assessed in. This is a competence qualification, so you must have access to real work of the right type while you are registered. No workplace, no evidence.
- Proof of identity — a passport, driving licence or similar, as the awarding body requires.
- A National Insurance number, so we can obtain your Unique Learner Number.
- Enough English to explain your work to your assessor and to talk through your evidence.
- A device with a camera — a phone is fine. Evidence is photos and short videos of your own work, uploaded to your e-portfolio.
You do not need: any prior qualification, any classroom attendance, or to sit an exam. Assessment is entirely in your workplace via a remote e-portfolio, nationwide.
Tell us about any support need, disability or learning difficulty when you enrol and we will arrange reasonable adjustments — it does not affect whether you can take the qualification.
The awarding body sets the final entry criteria for each qualification. If you are not sure whether your current role gives you the right evidence, ask us before you book — we would rather tell you honestly than register you for something you cannot complete.
What card does this NVQ lead to?
Leads to the Blue CSCS Skilled Worker card
On completion you can apply for the Blue CSCS Skilled Worker card, proving competence in your trade.
Your NVQ pathway
- Level 2 Skilled
- Level 3 Advanced
- Level 4 Supervisor
- Level 5 Senior Supervisor
- Level 6 Manager
Your current qualification is highlighted. Progress up the pathway as your career develops.
How the e-portfolio assessment works
- Enrol and be assigned a dedicated occupational assessor.
- Gather workplace evidence — photos, videos, witness statements — via our online portal.
- Complete a professional discussion and observations against the 610/0052/9 standards.
- Certification, then apply to CSCS for your card.