BTEC Extended Diploma in Civil Engineering

Construction is a very important global industry and is worth £90 billion annually to the UK economy. At technician level and beyond, there is a diverse range of career pathways, with established professional entry and development routes in civil engineering, building services engineering, design/architecture, and construction supervision/management. Currently, qualified construction technicians, managers and professionals are highly sought after in the UK industry, with demand for a greater number of professionals to implement and lead low-carbon and sustainable building and infrastructure projects in an efficient, cost-effective way.

The Extended Diploma is a two-year, full-time course that meets entry requirements in its own right for learners who want to progress to higher education courses in civil engineering areas before entering employment. The qualification is intended to meet the educational base for registration as a technician. It can also support learners who want to progress directly to employment in job roles in civil engineering as technicians, or to a professional construction role and Advanced / Higher Apprenticeships in civil engineering. 

This Extended Diploma is equivalent in size to three A-levels. Learners can progress to this qualification either from a relevant Level 2 course in construction or directly from GCSEs, provided they have the required grades (see the Entry Requirements section for more details).  

In addition to the main units that you will study in this course, you are expected to complete a minimum of 22 hours work placement in the industry. Participation in work placement preparation workshops and career events would count towards the work placement hours you need to complete. The College will aim to help learners secure a suitable industrial placement, but we encourage students to initiate contact with construction employers for securing a placement themselves and we will provide guidance throughout the process.

You will also participate in tutorial sessions and join our Professional Construction Employment and Skills Academy which has outstanding links with – and support from – numerous local construction companies including contractors, architects, building services firms, civil engineers, quantity surveyors and structural engineers.

Please note that, in addition to this BTEC Extended Diploma in Civil Engineering, DCG offers a BTEC Extended Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment (please see relevant course page for more details). 

You need to be highly motivated and demonstrate a keen personal interest in pursuing a civil engineering or professional construction role. Offers of a place on the course are dependent on your achieved qualifications and successful interview. You will need one of the following:

• A minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4 (higher C) or above, including English and Science. You will need a grade 5 or higher in Maths.
• A BTEC qualification at Level 2 with an overall grade of “Merit” or higher.
• An Intermediate Diploma in a relevant subject area to a Merit or Distinction grade. The candidate should also have GCSE English at grade 4 or above, and GCSE Maths at grade 5 or above.

Maths is a critical element of this programme and is embedded in the units taken. An additional assessment of suitability may be taken.

The qualification involves 1080 guided learning hours (GLH), which is equivalent in size to three A-levels. You will study 15 units in total over two academic years. Three of these units are double size units (120 GLH each) and are externally assessed by the awarding body, while the remaining units are all 60 GLH and are assessed internally at the College. This means that 33% of the curriculum size is externally assessed.

The mandatory content of this qualification is 66% of the curriculum size i.e. eight out of the 15 units are mandatory, whereas the other seven are optional and can be chosen by the College from a list of available units. The choice of the seven optional units depends on several factors, such as meeting employers’ current demands, the construction sector’s developments, and the availability of specialist teaching staff for delivery of these units.

The units in this qualification include:

• Unit 1: Construction Principles – 120 GLH – externally assessed
• Unit 2: Construction Design – 120 GLH – externally assessed
• Unit 3: Tendering and Estimating – 120 GLH – externally assessed
• Unit 4: Construction Technology – 60 GLH – internally assessed
• Unit 5: Health and Safety in Construction – 60 GLH – internally assessed
• Unit 11: Site Engineering for Construction – 60 GLH – internally assessed
• Unit 15: Further Mathematics for Construction – 60 GLH – internally assessed
• Unit 23: Construction in Civil Engineering – 60 GLH – internally assessed

In addition to the eight mandatory units above, there will be seven more optional units that will be confirmed by the College during the course, and all optional units are internally assessed.

In addition to the 15 units above, you will have the following timetabled sessions:

• Tutorial sessions
• Work placement sessions

This course is delivered on-site in the Hudson Building on the Roundhouse campus. The course has 1080 guided learning hours (540 per year). Guided learning hours mean activities that directly or immediately involve tutors and assessors in teaching, supervising and invigilating students, for example lectures, tutorials, online instruction and supervised study.

Your weekly timetable will include sessions that cover the topics of the qualification in addition to weekly tutorial sessions to develop your employability skills, industrial placement preparation, personal development, social action, performance, wellbeing, and the next steps following your graduation from the course.

We work closely with our partner employers to engage them in the design and delivery of the curriculum where possible. This includes guest lectures from industry specialists and site trips to live construction projects and relevant museums.

Students are expected to undertake private study, preparation for assessment and undertaking assessment when not under supervision, such as preparatory reading, revision and independent research in order to complete and show achievement for the qualification. 

For information related to the course assessment, please see the relevant section.

We encourage all our learners to comply with our dress code of a uniform shirt (with the Derby College Group Professional Construction logo), smart trousers/skirt, and sensible work shoes (not trainers).

You will also need to purchase various items of equipment, including safety boots for site visits, a scientific calculator and technical drawing equipment. The purchase of appropriate books and e-books is encouraged and guidance on which books to purchase will be given by subject specialists. There may also be a request for contributions to trips and visits as part of our Employment and Skills Academy activities.

The Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma is a Level 3 qualification. The course is assessed by a mixture of internal and external assessments. The course includes three double size units (120 GLH each) which are externally assessed by the awarding body. This means that 33% of the curriculum size is externally assessed. The external assessment usually takes place in May/June of each academic year. This will help learners as they progress either into higher levels of vocational learning or to related academic qualifications, by providing independent assessment evidence of learning alongside the portfolio-based assessment. This approach will also assist learners in developing a range of transferable skills, and in applying their knowledge in unfamiliar contexts. 

The remaining 12 units are all 60 GLH and are assessed internally at the College. Internal assessment enables learners to develop a wider range of skills and provide evidence towards meeting the unit assessment criteria. Evidence for assessment can be generated through a range of activities, including written work, practical performance and verbal presentations.

Each individual unit will be awarded a grade of either Distinction (D), Merit (M), Pass (P), Near Pass (N) or Unclassified (U). Distinction* (D*) is not available at unit level.

The overall grade for the Extended Diploma ranges from PPP to D* D* D*. The calculation of qualification grade table is shown further on in this section, and it demonstrates the minimum thresholds for calculating these grades.

In order to be awarded a qualification, a learner must complete all units, achieve a Near Pass (N) or above in all three external units and a Pass or above in all mandatory units unless otherwise specified (see below).

To achieve any qualification grade, learners must:

• complete and have an outcome (D, M, P, N or U) for all units
• complete and achieve Pass or above in the internal mandatory unit – Unit 4 – Construction Technology
• achieve a minimum 900 GLH at Pass or above (or N or above in external units)
• achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold

The table below shows the number of points available for internal units. For each internal unit, points are allocated depending on the grade awarded:

The table below shows the minimum number of points available for each grade in the external units:

The sum of the points from the 15 units will decide the qualification overall grade as illustrated in the table below:

*Please note that the table is subject to review over the lifetime of the qualification. The most up-to-date version will be issued on Pearson’s website. Please also note the three conditions listed previously in this section for awarding a qualification grade. Learners who do not achieve the required minimum grade (N or P) in units shown in the structure above will not achieve a qualification. Learners who do not achieve sufficient points for a qualification or who do not achieve all the required units may be eligible to achieve a smaller qualification in the same suite provided they have completed and achieved the correct combination of units and met the appropriate qualification grade points threshold. Learners who do not meet the minimum requirements for a qualification grade to be awarded will be recorded as Unclassified (U) and will not be certificated. They may receive a Notification of Performance for individual units.

This qualification will prepare learners for direct employment in the construction and built environment sector, and is ideal if they wish to enter a particular specialist area of work, in a role such as civil engineering technician/site technician.

The optional units give learners the chance to learn about a particular aspect of construction in more detail, but because the mandatory content makes up two-thirds of the qualification, they will be prepared for all these roles whichever optional units are chosen.

Alternatively, and with employment in a qualifying role, students could progress sideways to Level 3 Construction or Civil Engineering Technician Apprenticeships to develop and gain certification of their occupational competence.

There are many roles in the construction and civil engineering sectors where recruitment is at higher level (such as Level 4) or at graduate level (Level 6). The qualification carries UCAS points and is recognised by higher education providers as contributing to the admission requirements to many relevant courses. Following the completion of this course, learners may wish to progress to one of the HNC courses (Level 4) or one of the Higher Apprenticeship standards (Level 4) which are supported by DCG. This includes the following options:

• HNC in Civil Engineering
• HNC in Construction and the Built Environment
• HNC in Building Services Engineering
• HNC in Future Homes Design and Construction
• Construction Site Engineering Technician Higher Apprenticeship – Level 4 (combined with the qualification HNC in Civil Engineering)
• Construction Site Supervisor Higher Apprenticeship – Level 4 (combined with the qualification HNC in Construction and the Built Environment)
• Construction Quantity Surveying Technician Higher Apprenticeship – Level 4 (combined with the qualification HNC in Construction and the Built Environment)
• Construction Design and Build Technician Higher Apprenticeship – Level 4 (combined with the qualification HNC in Future Homes Design and Construction)
• Building Services Engineering Technician Higher Apprenticeship – Level 4 (combined with the qualification HNC in Building Services Engineering)

Please note that progression to our Level 4 courses is subject to achieving an overall grade of MMP or higher in the Extended Diploma. Alternatively, learners may wish to progress to university or other higher education providers directly after completing this Level 3 course.

For more information, contact Derby College Group on 0800 0280289 or enquiries@derby-college.ac.uk