01244 722697
Mon–Fri 8am–6pm
info@ctg.org.uk
Thin Joint Masonry NVQ Level 2
Thin Joint Masonry NVQ Level 2
Thin-joint blockwork builds faster and tighter — if the first course is perfect and the glue discipline holds. Prove your competence with a work-based NVQ assessed on your walls, 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
Thin joint masonry swaps 10mm mortar beds for 2–3mm adhesive — full storey heights in a day, tighter tolerances, better airtightness. It rewards masons who set out precisely and punishes everyone else, because there’s no fat bed to lose an error in. This NVQ documents your thin-joint competence from the blockwork you already lay.
A CTG assessor visits your sites, observes real setting out and laying, 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 thin joint masonry occupational units in your registration. Thin joint is an occupational unit combination within the Trowel Occupations qualification — your certificate carries the qualification title with the units you evidenced. It’s the typical qualification 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 — thin joint masonry |
| 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 thin joint fits the Trowel Occupations qualification
The Level 2 Trowel Occupations qualification combines mandatory masonry units with optional occupational units chosen to match your work — thin joint masonry among them. It is a unit combination within the qualification, not a separate formal pathway. General bricklaying has its own page at Bricklaying NVQ Level 2, and other combinations include Masonry Repair and Masonry Cladding. We register the honest combination for your trade.
Who this NVQ is for
Experienced masons laying thin-joint aircrete and similar systems on housing and commercial frames. You should be laying with minimal supervision. Typical evidence: setting out and levelling the first course on mortar, applying adhesive with scoop or sledge to full beds, laying to line with storey-height productivity, forming junctions and reveals with thin-joint accessories, bed-joint reinforcement where specified, and protecting fresh work.
Entry requirements
No formal entry qualifications. You must be laying thin joint masonry at work now, on jobs a CTG assessor can attend. Masons new to thin joint should build system 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
- Erect Thin Joint Masonry Structures in the Workplace
Other optional units (minimum one from this group)
- Erecting Masonry Cladding in the Workplace
- Repairing and Maintaining 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 Thin Joint Masonry NVQ take?
Typically 4–8 weeks — thin-joint gangs produce walls daily.
I lay conventional brick and block too — which registration?
The qualification’s flexibility exists for exactly that: units are combined to match your genuine work. One call registers it honestly — see also Bricklaying NVQ.
Is thin joint a separate qualification from bricklaying?
No — both are routes through the same Level 2 Trowel Occupations qualification with different unit combinations. Your certificate carries the qualification title.
Can the gang enrol together?
Yes — mixed gangs register together, each on the right 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.