What is a site supervisor?
A site supervisor is someone who manages staff and subcontractors on construction sites, ensuring that workers complete projects correctly and on time by assigning duties, schedules and undertaking health and safety assessments. In a construction environment, the site supervisor will typically work as a middle man between a site manager and the rest of the ground team, ensuring that all work is undertaken efficiently and safely.
A large aspect of the site supervisor role is that of health and safety concern. As a site supervisor, you are bestowed with the responsibility of maintaining good practice when it comes to health and safety. A site supervisor would be expected to conduct regular and thorough site inspections, developing protocol and measures to identify and mitigate any potential hazards. They would also be expected to observe any work being undertaken, ensuring that all work is undertaken safely and correctly, in adherence with building codes and health and safety regulations.
A site manager should possess excellent organisational skills and leadership capabilities. As a site supervisor, you would be expected to efficiently communicate vital information to team members, being able to distribute workloads to maximise efficiency and ensure punctual results.
How do I become a site supervisor?
A site supervisor is someone who has suitable experience in the construction industry, and is able to understand the importance of health and safety and staff management on site. With this, you should have ample experience working in a construction environment before becoming a site supervisor. If you’re experienced and confident in your work in a construction environment, you should then complete a supervisory NVQ to obtain your gold CSCS card. We’ll explain that in more detail later on.
How much does a site supervisor earn?
Being a construction site supervisor involves a significant amount of responsibility and reliability and the workload can be significantly higher. With this, a construction site supervisor role will usually see a higher salary than a skilled site worker. According to the government website, a construction site supervisor salary can be £25,000 – £45,000.
How long does it take to become a site supervisor?
Construction site supervisors are typically experienced professionals with earned experience in the industry, so you may want to obtain some experience before attempting to become a site supervisor straight away.
You’ll need to complete a supervision NVQ to become a site supervisor, as this certifies your ability and competency in the field. If you’re experienced and competent as a supervisor but haven’t got a qualification, you can get your level 3/ 4 supervision NVQ with Portland Training, which will enable you to get qualified as a site supervisor. This can be completed within 8-12 weeks.
Where can being a site supervisor lead to?
Being a qualified is a highly regarded occupation itself, but if you’re looking to further your potential in the construction industry, you may move on to management roles after this qualification. Being a site supervisor, you will develop transferrable skills in regards to your knowledge, skills and experience that will help you in becoming an site manager or senior site manager. You can click the posts below to learn more about site management and what you’ll need to do.
What qualification do I need to become a site supervisor?
To become a qualified site supervisor you will need to complete a relevant level 3 or level 4 supervision NVQ. This qualification will allow to obtain your gold CSCS supervisors card. This card will allow you to certify the existence of your supervision NVQ and that you are capable of working in such a capacity in a construction environment. CSCS cards are a nationally recognised standard in the construction industry and can significantly improve your career prospects. Obtaining a level 3 or level 4 supervision NVQ (and subsequently a Gold CSCS card )may also help with keeping you and your employer covered legally on a construction site. If you are in charge of other workers, it is always best to have credible certification to reinforce your position from a legal perspective.
Many site supervisors choose to obtain the SSSTS Qualification (Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme) which is another nationally recognised qualification that will boost your employment prospects and help you significantly in your role. As previously mentioned, health and safety is a crucial part of being a site supervisor, obtaining this qualification can really help with this. Whilst this qualification is not mandatory for the role, it is definitely beneficial to have. At Portland Training, we are able to offer this qualification commercially to help you in your career as a site supervisor. Learn more here.
How do I get the necessary NVQ to be a Site Supervisor?
To become a site supervisor, you’ll need your level 3 or 4 supervision NVQ. At Portland Training, we’re able to provide these NVQs with no classrooms, no written work, and no time away from work. Our experienced assessors will come to your place of work to gather all necessary evidence of you in your role and get you the qualification you need to further your potential and move on to your new gold card. If the company you work/subcontract for are CITB registered, you’ll be able to claim back up to £1250 on your NVQ, meaning it may only cost £100 (+VAT).
How do I get my Level 3 NVQ for free?
You may be eligible to get qualified as a site supervisor and obtain your level 3 NVQ for free. At Portland Training, we’re able to deliver free level 3 NVQs under the government funded ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ scheme. This means that if you’re 24+, have relevant experience and don’t have a level 3 qualification, you may get your NVQ for free! You can learn more about our fully funded level 3 NVQs here.
Interested in completing an NVQ with us? Get in contact today!
