The SVQ in Heating and Ventilating: Ductwork Installation at SCQF Level 5, commonly known as the Level 2 ductwork NVQ, is the qualification that proves you are a competent ductwork installer. It is awarded by SQA (the Scottish Qualifications Authority), group award code GR5E 22, and it is a recognised vocational qualification across the UK. An SVQ is the Scottish equivalent of an NVQ, and SCQF Level 5 is broadly equivalent to a Level 2 NVQ in England and Wales, which is why it is usually searched for as the ductwork NVQ.
It is aimed at people installing industrial and commercial heating and ventilating ductwork who have the skills but not the formal qualification. Like an NVQ, an SVQ is competence-based: you prove you can already do the work to national standards, assessed from your own job, rather than sitting written exams.
The qualification is made up of six mandatory units covering health, safety and environmental legislation in building services, working relationships, installing and testing industrial and commercial ductwork systems, preparing to carry out work, identifying systems, equipment and components, and inspecting and testing mechanical systems. There are no optional units, so everyone completes the same six.
Assessment is by portfolio and observation of your real work, supported by your assessor. Ductwork installers in building services evidence their site competence through the relevant building services or CSCS card scheme; the CSCS Cards guide explains how competence cards work. You can also browse the full range of construction NVQs for related trades.
Building services pipework has its own NVQ route at Level 2 and Level 3.