Construction site supervisor
Construction site supervisors manage staff and subcontractors on building sites.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a construction site supervisor, you would:
- agree inspection procedures with subcontractors
- examine building plans to make sure they meet set standards
- manage orders and deliveries of construction materials
- organise staff work schedules
- visit sites to inspect ongoing work and check safety procedures
- check the quality of completed jobs
- audit inspection processes to make sure they are effective
- complete site reports for construction managers
Working environment
You could work on a construction site, at a client's business or in an office.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could work in:
- health and safety
- contract management
- estimating
- construction management
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of building and construction
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- leadership skills
- the ability to work well with others
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- the ability to motivate and manage staff
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- be able to cope with working at height
- have a full driving licence
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
You could take a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:
- building studies
- construction management
- surveying
- civil engineering
- construction engineering
Degrees that offer the chance to gain work experience through a year in industry placement or paid internship may give you an advantage when looking for work.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
You could do a college course to move into site management. Relevant subjects include:
- construction site supervisory studies
- construction site supervision
- construction site management
You normally need experience of working in construction or have a construction-related qualification to do these courses.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
More Information
You can apply to do a Construction Site Supervisor Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship.
This can take around 3 years to complete. You'll do on-the-job training and spend time with a college or training provider.
Entry requirements
To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More Information
If you're working in construction or civil engineering, for example as a senior tradesperson or surveying technician, you could move into a supervisory or management role through training and promotion.
Registration
- you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on a construction site
Professional and industry bodies
You could join the Institute of Clerks of Works and Construction Inspectorate for professional development, industry news and useful resources.
Further information
You'll find more details about training and working in construction from Go Construct and House Building Careers.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.