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Structural Concreting NVQ Level 2
Structural Concreting NVQ Level 2
Foundations, slabs, walls — structural pours carry the building forever. Prove your concreting competence with a work-based NVQ assessed at your pours, 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
Structural concreting is placing concrete that the engineer designed to work: around reinforcement, into proprietary formwork, compacted full, cured properly. The operative’s discipline during the pour — layer heights, vibration, joints — decides whether the cube results mean anything. This NVQ documents that competence from the pours you already work.
A CTG assessor attends your pours, observes placing, compacting and formwork operations, 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 Construction Operations and Civil Engineering (qualification code 600/6515/1) through the Structural Concreting pathway — the typical qualification route to the Blue Skilled Worker CSCS card.
Qualification Structure
Key information
| Full title | GQA Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Construction Operations and Civil Engineering |
| Qualification code | 600/6515/1 |
| Pathway | Structural Concreting |
| 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 |
What the Structural Concreting pathway covers
The pathway covers pouring structural concrete and erecting and striking proprietary formwork in the workplace, plus the qualification’s mandatory units. It’s distinct from three related qualifications we also deliver: the Floor Screeding NVQ (a separate Specialist Concrete qualification), the Concrete Finisher NVQ, and the full Formwork NVQ for dedicated formwork carpenters. One call and we’ll register the one that matches your actual role.
Working on highways? Same trade, second route
Structural concreting is also a pathway of the Highways Maintenance qualification (601/8294/5) — bridge and structure work for highways contractors may fit that route better. Same price, same card outcome. Tell us where you work and we’ll register the right one. See the Highways Maintenance NVQ.
Who this NVQ is for
Experienced concreting operatives on foundations, slabs, retaining walls and RC frames. You should be working pours with minimal supervision. Typical evidence: checking formwork and reinforcement before the pour, placing concrete in controlled layers, compacting with pokers without segregation, forming construction joints, erecting and striking proprietary formwork safely, curing and protection, and working with the pump or crane-and-skip team.
Entry requirements
No formal entry qualifications. You must be working structural pours now, on jobs a CTG assessor can attend. New starters 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 Construction Operations and Civil Engineering — Construction Operations, qualification code 600/6515/1. 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
Site safety units (10 credits required)
- Establishing Work Area Protection and Safety in the Workplace
- Segregating the Area for Highways Works in the Workplace
Structural Concreting pathway units
- Pouring Concrete to Form Structures in the Workplace
- Erecting and Striking Proprietary Formwork in the Workplace
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Structural Concreting NVQ take?
Typically 4–8 weeks, planned around your pour programme.
Is this the screeding qualification?
No — floor screeding is a separate Specialist Concrete qualification with its own page: Floor Screeding NVQ. This pathway is structural pours and formwork.
We strike and re-erect table forms — whose evidence is that?
Proprietary formwork erection and striking within your concreting role belongs here; dedicated formwork carpentry is the separate Formwork Carpenter NVQ. We’ll map your role honestly.
Can the concrete gang enrol together?
Yes — placers, finishers and formwork hands each on the right qualification in one visit plan.
Rated by the people we qualify
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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 600/6515/1 standards.
- Certification, then apply to CSCS for your card.