You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:

• building studies
• construction
• civil engineering
• surveying

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

Once you have some construction experience, you could complete a college course to help you progress to site supervisor and inspector roles.

Courses include:

• Level 3 Diploma in Construction Site Supervisory Studies
• Level 4 Diploma in Construction Site Supervision
• Level 4 Certificate or Diploma in Construction Site Management

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
• 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course

Apprenticeships relevant to this role include:

• construction site supervisor higher apprenticeship
• construction site engineering technician higher apprenticeship
• construction site management degree apprenticeship

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

You could work as a site tradesperson, building technician or surveying assistant and move up to become a site inspector through on-the-job training.

You could apply directly to work as a building site inspector. To do this, you'll need several years' construction experience. Qualifications in health and safety will also be useful.

You'll need:

• knowledge of building and construction
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• customer service skills
• the ability to use your initiative
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• maths knowledge
• analytical thinking skills
• the ability to analyse quality or performance
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

In this role you will:

• inspect construction sites
• check that work is following building regulations
• make sure that work is following project plans
• measure and sample building materials to check their quality
• find defects and recommend ways to fix them
• monitor work progress
• write reports for construction managers and clients

You could work in an office or on a construction site.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.

You may need to wear protective clothing.