Course Genie

NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Dry Lining

Accredited by ProQual

The NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Dry Lining is the qualification that proves you are a competent dry liner, and it is the route to the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. It is delivered through the ProQual Interior Systems qualification. An NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) is competence-based: instead of sitting exams, you demonstrate that you can already do the job, assessed against national standards from your own workplace. It sits at Level 2 on the regulated qualifications framework, and the whole qualification is completed remotely.

It is aimed at people already working in dry lining who have the skills but not the formal qualification. For most dry liners the real prize is the CSCS card: nearly every main contractor now requires a valid skilled-worker card to get on site, and the card proves your competence and opens up better-paid work. Because the NVQ is assessed on evidence from your day-to-day work, you keep earning throughout, with no classes, no written exams and no site visits.

This NVQ is awarded by ProQual and regulated by Ofqual (qualification number 603/0292/6). It is made up of core units that everyone completes, covering health and safety, working efficiently and handling materials, plus a pathway you choose to match your work.

Dry lining is delivered through the ProQual Interior Systems NVQ. Most dry liners take the Dry Lining Fixing pathway, which covers boarding walls, ceilings and partitions. The same qualification also has pathways for demountable and operable partitions, glass partitions, access flooring and acoustic floors. You take the pathway that matches your work, and your assessor helps you pick the right one when you start.

Completing the NVQ, together with a pass in the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test at the level for your occupation, lets you apply for the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. The CSCS Cards guide explains how the card, the qualification and the test fit together.

Experienced dry liners can progress towards supervision with the Level 3 Occupational Work Supervision NVQ. CourseGenie also lists NVQs across the other construction trades, including Bricklaying, Carpentry and Roofing. You can also browse the full range of construction NVQs.

Drylining works closely with related interior and finishing trades such as Interior Systems and Plastering.

Who it's for

  • Working dry liners who have the skills but no formal qualification
  • Experienced dry liners who need a CSCS card to stay on site
  • Self-employed dry liners wanting nationally recognised proof of competence
  • Dry liners who learned on the job and want to formalise their skills
  • Tradespeople whose main contractor requires a skilled-worker card
  • Workers whose existing qualifications do not match their on-site experience
  • Tradespeople returning to the industry who need to re-evidence their skills

Entry requirements

  • You must be working in the trade with enough work to evidence your competence
  • Relevant hands-on trade experience is expected
  • Access to live work throughout to gather evidence
  • There are no formal entry qualifications and no written exams
  • You work with a qualified assessor who supports you remotely
  • A commitment to build an online portfolio of evidence from your work
  • For the CSCS card, you also pass the CITB HS&E test at the level for your occupation

What you'll achieve

  • The NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Dry Lining, regulated by Ofqual (number 603/0292/6)
  • Nationally recognised proof that you are a competent dry liner
  • Eligibility for the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card, taken with the CITB HS&E test
  • A CSCS card that gives you access to nearly every UK construction site
  • Recognition by main contractors and clients across the UK
  • A qualification that matches the experience you already have
  • Completed entirely remotely, with no exams, no site visits and no time away from work
  • A portfolio of evidence demonstrating your competence against national standards
  • A stronger position to win better-paid and higher-skilled work
  • A foundation for progression to higher-level and supervisory qualifications

What's covered

1
Health, safety and welfare in construction
Working safely and keeping to welfare standards on site.
2
Working efficiently and productively
Working to the standards and tolerances expected in the trade.
3
Moving, handling and storing resources
Handling and storing plasterboard, metal and materials safely.
4
Fixing plasterboard by direct bond
Fixing board to solid backgrounds by dot and dab.
5
Fixing plasterboard to framing
Fixing board to metal or timber stud framing.
6
Installing metal stud partitions
Setting out and building metal stud partition systems.
7
Boarding walls and ceilings
Boarding out walls and ceilings ready for finishing.

How to enrol

  1. 1 Book and pay securely online using the button above. Enrolment is immediate, with no fixed start dates.
  2. 2 We send you a short skill scan form to confirm your experience and that this is the right qualification for you.
  3. 3 We register you with ProQual.
  4. 4 Your assessor gets in touch to get you started and guide you through building your portfolio remotely.

NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Dry Lining FAQs

It is a competence-based qualification that proves you are a skilled dry liner. You demonstrate your competence against national standards using evidence from your own work, with no exams. It is the route to the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. The ProQual qualification number is 603/0292/6.
It is the route to the CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. To get the card you complete the NVQ and pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test at the level for your occupation. CSCS cards are valid for five years.
Yes. The NVQ proves your trade competence and the CITB HS&E test proves your safety knowledge. You need both to apply for the CSCS card.
It is assessed remotely against national standards. You build an online portfolio of evidence from your day-to-day work, including photographs and videos of your work, and you have professional discussions with your assessor by video call. There are no written exams and no site visits.
Yes. The whole qualification is completed remotely. You build your portfolio online and your assessor supports you by video call and email, so there are no site visits and no time away from work. You can complete it from anywhere in the UK.
The qualification carries a total qualification time of around 370 hours, which is a notional measure of all the learning it represents, not time off the job. Because the NVQ recognises skills you already use every day, most people complete it remotely in around three to nine months.
No. The NVQ is assessed remotely from your own workplace, so there are no classes to attend and no time away from the job.
Yes. Self-employed tradespeople are well suited to the NVQ, because you evidence your competence from your own jobs. You just need enough relevant work to cover the qualification standards.
Yes. The NVQ is designed for experienced workers who can already do the job but have never been formally qualified. It recognises the skills you have built up through real work.
There are no formal entry qualifications. You do need to be working in dry lining with enough hands-on work to evidence your competence.
This NVQ is awarded by ProQual and regulated by Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. The qualification number is 603/0292/6.
The NVQ is an Ofqual-regulated qualification rather than a CITB course. CITB-registered employers may be able to claim grant funding towards construction NVQs, depending on current rates.
The cost varies by provider, and CITB-registered employers may be able to claim grant funding towards construction NVQs. Compare live prices at the top of this page.
You build an online portfolio from your real work: photographs and videos of your work, records of professional discussions held by video call, and witness statements from colleagues or supervisors.
You enrol and pay online, complete a short skills scan form, get registered with ProQual, and your assessor gets in touch to start building your portfolio. Enrolment is immediate, with no fixed start dates.
If you board walls, ceilings and stud partitions, you take the Dry Lining Fixing pathway. If you fit demountable, operable or glass partition systems, or access and acoustic flooring, there are pathways for those too. Your assessor confirms the right pathway from the work you do.
Yes. CSCS cards are valid for five years and are then renewed. The NVQ qualification itself does not expire.

Other ProQual NVQs

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