When learning a skilled trade, you'll develop your core knowledge and practical skills at a training centre, under the guidance of expert tutors. Some qualifications also require you to show that you can apply those skills in a real working environment.
During a work placement, you’ll carry out live jobs under supervision, building evidence of competence for your qualification while you get used to how things run on a real site. If you’re changing careers, a placement is your chance to get first-hand experience of the job you’ve been working towards, as well as experience you can talk about on your CV and in future interviews.
This guide breaks down what a trade work placement is, what it involves, and how it can help you build the experience and confidence to take the next step towards a career you can be proud of.
What is an NVQ?
Let’s start with the basics: NVQ stands for National Vocational Qualification. It’s a competency-based qualification, which means you need to show that you can carry out the required skills to the right standard in the workplace.
According to City & Guilds’ guidance on NVQs, this can involve building a portfolio of work and being observed by an assessor while you carry out relevant tasks.
The exact requirements depend on the qualification you’re taking. What matters is that you can demonstrate what you’re able to do in practice, not just what you know in theory.
For plumbing learners, gaining a Level 2 NVQ is an important step towards becoming qualified. Electrical learners now follow the EAL Level 3 Electrotechnical Qualification instead of the previous NVQ route. Both require evidence from real jobs, helping you demonstrate your skills and progress towards the qualifications employers recognise.
What is a trade work placement?
A trade work placement is a period of supervised workplace experience where you can take part in real jobs and gather evidence towards your qualification.
Because many aspects of a job are difficult to recreate in a training centre, placements are an opportunity to experience these first-hand. For example, how a site runs on a day-to-day basis, how people and teams communicate, and how different teams work around each other in shared spaces.
During your placement, you won’t be expected to turn up knowing everything. They understand that you’re there to continue your development, observing how the things you’ve practised in training are actually handled, all while working alongside experienced tradespeople.
What can you get from a work placement?
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| What you gain | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| Put your training to the test | Use the skills you’ve developed during training in real workplace situations while an experienced tradesperson is there to supervise you. |
| Gather evidence towards your qualification | Complete the types of tasks that need to be recorded and assessed as part of your portfolio. |
| Get more confidence in your skills | Get used to applying what you’ve learned when the job, property or working environment is different from the training centre. |
| Experience how sites work | See how a real site runs day to day, from signing in and joining toolbox talks to working around other trades and knowing when to ask questions. |
| Network with valuable industry contacts | Get to know tradespeople and businesses while you’re on site, giving you the chance to start building a network within the industry. |
| Gain experience running a business | Depending on your placement, you may see how tradespeople deal with customers, answer questions and handle parts of running a business, including paperwork and invoicing. This can be useful experience if you want to work for yourself in future. |
What counts as workplace evidence for your qualification?
By this point, you know that gathering evidence towards your qualification is a fundamental part of your placement - but what does that evidence look like?
Your assessor will tell you what you need to prove and how to record it. Depending on your qualification, this might include photographs of completed work, job records, assessor observations, relevant documentation or evidence from someone who has seen you carrying out the work.
Electrical
The current EAL Level 3 Electrotechnical Qualification requires workplace performance evidence from real jobs. Depending on the work available, this can include areas such as cable installation, termination and testing, containment systems, earthing and bonding, and relevant risk assessments.
Plumbing
Learners completing the Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Plumbing and Heating need to show their competence through work completed on site. This could include installation, repairs and replacement, maintenance and decommissioning, alongside applying safe working practices.
Gas engineering
Gas works a little differently. Your Level 3 Diploma in Gas Engineering includes an on-site portfolio rather than an NVQ. You build this from supervised work, which can include installations, breakdowns, pipework and servicing.
Our Professional Gas Engineer Course also includes a Level 2 Diploma in Plumbing, giving you a broader range of skills for domestic work.
What placement support is available with Access Training?
We offer different levels of placement support depending on your course package. With Professional, you arrange your own suitable workplace experience, while Premium includes a guaranteed placement arranged by Access Training.
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| Essential course package | Professional course package | Premium course package | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career Support | CV review and rewrite, candidate profile, suitable employer introductions, interview preparation, ECS/CSCS guidance, and support with your next career steps. | ||
| Who arranges your workplace experience? |
Electrical and plumbing: No placement required for the Essential qualifications. Gas: You arrange your own supervised workplace experience for your Level 3 Diploma portfolio. |
You find your own suitable placement or mentor to gather the workplace evidence required for your qualification. | Access Training finds a suitable host and guarantees your placement once you're ready. |
| What placement support is included? | No placement sourcing or host matching is included. | Help with approaching employers and understanding the workplace evidence you need | Placement preparation and host matching, including a guaranteed four-week unpaid placement for electrical and plumbing, or a guaranteed portfolio placement for gas. |
How does the Premium placement work?
Once you’re ready to start gathering workplace evidence, we begin the process of finding and preparing you for your placement.
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1. Complete the required training and assessments
Before you can go on site, you’ll complete your induction, meet your assessor and make sure the paperwork you need is in place. Your assessor will then confirm when you’re ready to start collecting evidence in the workplace.
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2. Get ready for your placement
We look at your availability, how far you can travel and what you’ll need to be ready for site, including the relevant industry card, PPE and tools. Electrical learners will usually need a Trainee ECS card, while plumbing and gas learners will need the relevant CSCS card.
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3. We find a suitable host
We search for suitable hosts around your postcode and match you based on your trade, where you are in your training, the evidence you need and the live work available.
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4. Complete your four week placement
You spend time on placement working on live jobs under supervision and gathering workplace evidence towards your qualification.
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5. Review your progress
Your assessor reviews the evidence you’ve gathered, including the jobs you’ve worked on and the photographs and descriptions in your portfolio. They’ll also ask you questions about the work before confirming whether there is anything else you still need to cover.
We understand that training often needs to fit around the rest of your life, which is why the four-week placement doesn't have to mean four consecutive Monday-to-Friday weeks. Our learners often do two or three days a week, over a longer placement period.
Every placement company we work with is vetted against the evidence or portfolio requirements you need to meet, as well as the live jobs and availability they can offer. Because site work changes, the exact jobs you take part in will depend on what is available during your placement.
Does a guaranteed work placement mean a guaranteed job?
Not always. The guarantee covers your four-week placement, and doesn’t include paid employment with the host afterwards. If the host does have any suitable roles available, it is entirely up to them if they want to make you an offer.
It’s still worth approaching your placement in the same way you would a trial shift. You have the opportunity to show how you work, make a good impression and get to know people already working in the industry. Those contacts could prove useful when you’re looking for work, whether immediately afterwards or further down the line.
Your placement might not lead straight to a job, but our Career Support Team is still there when you're ready to look for work. They can review your CV with you and suggest local businesses or recruitment agencies worth approaching. If a suitable opportunity comes up through one of our mentors or employer contacts, they can also put your CV forward.
What happens after you complete your work placement?
Once your placement finishes, your assessor will review the evidence you’ve gathered and let you know if there are any areas of the qualification you still need to cover. From there, you can focus on gathering any outstanding evidence and keep progressing towards completing your qualification.
If you're curious about what happens once you complete your course, here’s an in-depth guide.
Need help working out which course package to choose?
If you’re comparing our Professional and Premium courses, or you’re feeling unsure about the workplace experience you’ll need, speak to one of our course advisors.
They’re here to listen to your career goals and help you figure out which option best suits the career and future you want to build.