BCATS information for schools

BCATS build skills

Building, Construction and Allied Trades Skills (BCATS) is a suite of Level 1-3 standards registered on the NZQCF that are tailor-made for schools, making BCATS the perfect choice since:

• They are included in schools’ Base Scope of Assessment, meaning schools do not need to apply for Consent to Assess.
• They can be achieved in any school-based context. This includes school workshops and simulated workplace settings – any structured, supported, and supervised environment where students’ work relates to building, construction, and allied trades.
• Students don’t need to achieve the standard of commercial competency. Unlike other standards, BCATS focus on the skills required to enter a building, construction, and allied trades career. In short, a BCATS graduate is an ideal candidate for an apprenticeship!

BCATS programmes:

• lead to BCATS qualifications registered on the NZQCF at Levels 1, 2 & 3
• contribute to NCEA qualifications
• develop literacy and numeracy skills.

BCATS in Trades Academies

As a guiding principle, BCATS should be undertaken as a cohesive BCATS package, rather than as a disparate collection of standards alongside others within a programme.

More specific preferences and recommendations for where BCATS should, and should not, be used hinge on the type of Trades Academy we are talking about:

• For a School Trades Academy, where learners are building houses and attend for several whole days per week, other standards are a more suitable option. These include the Carpentry Level 3 unit standards developed for learners working under supervision, in environments which reflect workplace and industry requirements, and do not recognise commercial competence. In contrast, BCATS in these types of Trades Academies disadvantage students since they do not recognise the carpentry skills that these learners are developing.
• For a Trades Academy based on secondary-tertiary partnerships and programmes aligned with Vocational Pathways, BCATS are suitable. The projects are the same as those completed by students doing Technology as a subject in the school timetable. For example, a cupboard with door and drawer, Cape Cod chair, etc.

Keeping BCATS relevant

Skill standards are replacing unit standards. BCATS qualifications have been updated with new graded skill standards and resources to better support learners and align with future vocational pathways.

Programme Guidance document

Waihanga Ara Rau has provided assessment commentary and programme guidance to support the transition from unit standards to new graded skill standards in BCATS, which providers can begin integrating into programmes ahead of the 2026 vocational pathways, with current unit standards valid until the end of 2027.