SayPro Buy Contracting 20813

This qualification has been developed to assist with standardisation across the building industry. This will allow persons to register as a Construction Contractor and lay a foundation for future career advancement across similar SMME programmes in other sectors as well as to supervisory and management qualifications within the construction sector.

Rationale of the qualification:

As a result of past legacies many practitioners within the building construction sector were denied career advancement and possible recognition as qualified Contractors. This was as a direct result of poor educational opportunities at some schools, leading to a lack of entry to formal training institutions. The introduction of a National Certificate in Construction Contracting based on unit standards will allow learners to reach their full potential of advancement without formal education becoming an impassable barrier and in addition, allow for the recognition of prior learning.

The Sector Skills Plan developed by the CETA showed a definite need for entrepreneurial and management personnel in the SMME arena in order to develop smaller construction contracting businesses. 

Recognition of Prior Learning:

Learners who have met the requirements of any unit standard in this qualification may apply for recognition of prior learning to the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA), and will be assessed against the assessment criteria and specific outcomes for the relevant Unit Standard/s. If a candidate is successful in all the unit standards, a whole qualification will be obtained. 

The qualification is composed of Fundamental, Core and Elective learning components: Fundamental – 36 credits and 144 Core credits.

In order to be awarded the Qualification, the learner has to prove competence on all the Fundamental and Core unit standards, as well as a minimum of 10 credits from the Elective list contained in the qualification. 

• Apply basic business principles to sell services, manage payment processing and conduct business in an ethical, professional manner.
• Discuss entrepreneurship; identify and describe the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur; identify, assess and improve learners’ individual entrepreneurial characteristics and discuss business ethics and social responsibility.
• Identify business ideas, eliminate inappropriate business ideas and select viable business ideas.
• Describe and analyse the different components of a typical business plan and design a business plan relevant to a selected business idea.
• Start, run and expand a business.
• Understand the external construction environment; identify the structures within the Construction Industry, the business Principles and Processes, and the Educational and Life Skills Principles needed for the Industry.
• Establish and manage a construction contracting business; understand and apply Business Principles, market contracting services, and apply Industrial Relations procedures.
• Apply Construction Contract documents, apply the legal aspects of disputes, and apply tender and construction drawings.
• Procure, prepare and submit a tender for a construction project.
• Comply with the legal requirements of a construction contract.
• Apply basic health and safety legislation in the form of standards and procedures governing health and safety in the workplace, to ensure that they contribute to a safe, healthy environment for themselves and others.
• Manage labour, plant end equipment, and materials resources on a construction project.
• Plan and program, coordinate project activities and implement costing and reporting procedures on a construction project.
• Manage quality, and to apply specifications on a construction project.
• Implement site administrative systems and procedures on a construction project. 

• Measure the quality of the observed practical performance as well as the theory and underpinning knowledge behind it.
• Use methods that are varied to allow the learner to display thinking and decision making in the demonstration of practical performance.
• Maintain a balance between practical performance and theoretical assessment methods to ensure each is measured in accordance with the level of the qualification.
• The relationship between practical and theoretical is not fixed but varies according to the type and level of qualification.

  Integrated Assessment:

  Before qualifying, the learners will be expected to demonstrate competence in a practical scenario (simulation) that integrates the assessment of all specific outcomes, for all unit standards. In addition, during the learning process for each Unit Standard, learners will be expected to write tests to assess underpinning knowledge, and demonstrate their skills in terms of specific outcomes for the relevant Unit Standard in assignments and practical exams.

  Integrated assessment provides learners with an opportunity to display an ability to integrate practical performance, actions, concepts and theory across unit standards to achieve competence in relation to the purpose of this qualification. 

Entrepreneurship competencies were similar in the NZ standards 7365, and 6156, although the emphasis of the former standard was on accounting and financial skills.

Specific qualifications with which this qualification has been compared include:

Code, Qualification/Unit standard & Country:

• 7365 – Accounting: Explain the financial entrepreneurial skills and factors in operating a small business – New Zealand.
• 6156 – Small Business Management: Develop strategies to foster innovation and entrepreneurship for small business enterprises – New Zealand.
• BCG20198 – Certificate II in General Construction – Australia.
• 2543, 2556, 2552, 2550, 2412, 598, 9184, 2558, 17515, 2557, 2555, 2551, 17516,2546, 604, and 2549 – Construction Trades/Core construction unit standards – 16 x generic construction – New Zealand. 

This qualification builds on other certificates from a range of sub-sectors and will provide articulation with a range of qualifications in both technical and management areas. 

Anyone assessing a learner or moderating the assessment of a learner against this Qualification must be registered as an assessor with the relevant ETQA.

Any institution offering learning that will enable the achievement of this Qualification must be accredited as a provider with the relevant ETQA.

Assessment and moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA according to the ETQA’s policies and guidelines for assessment and moderation; in terms of agreements reached around assessment and moderation between ETQA’s and in terms of the moderation guideline detailed immediately below.

Moderation must include both internal and external moderation of assessments at exit points of the qualification, unless ETQA policies specify otherwise. Moderation should also encompass achievement of the competence described both in individual unit standards as well as the integrated competence described in the qualification.

Anyone wishing to be assessed against this Qualification may apply to be assessed by any assessment agency, assessor or provider institution, which is accredited by the relevant ETQA. 

• A minimum of 2 (two) years’ practical, relevant occupational experience in the construction industry.
• Detailed documentary proof of educational qualification, practical training undergone, and experience gained by the applicant must be provided (Portfolio of Evidence).
• A recognised assessor qualification.