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Building pathways

A smarter qualification journey for building trades

Join the webinar

Our Qualifications team are hosting a webinar to share the outcomes and opportunities from the Building Pathways project, including how the different workstreams have come together to enhance the building qualification pathway.

📅 Wednesday 12 November 🕒 3.30–4.30pm Whether you're an educator, employer, or learner, this is your opportunity to hear how qualifications are being reshaped to better serve learners and the workforce.

Register to attend now

Building Pathways project outcomes

We’re pleased to present the latest outcomes of our Building Pathways project.

The purpose of this project is to create a more flexible, transparent, and supportive Building Qualification Pathway that remains relevant, accessible, and aligned with the needs of learners, employers, and the future of the construction workforce.

Some key improvements across the suite of micro-credentials and qualifications include:

  • skills in the qualifications are aligned with industry expectations using industry-developed skill standards.
  • the qualifications recognise the progressive development of skills within and across programmes, and identify overlapping skills across trades.
  • the qualifications and micro-credentials improve consistency and comparability across providers and programmes.
  • the qualifications strike a balance between core skills and flexibility, making them suitable for a range of roles and contexts.

Follow the links below for a detailed breakdown and summaries of changes made within each workstream:

NZ Certificate in Carpentry Level 4
NZ Certificate in Construction Trade Skills Level 3
Construction micro-credentials
Concrete Construction Levels 3 & 4

The opportunity

The introduction of skill standards created an opportunity to align building qualifications using consistent ‘building blocks’. This helps ensure learners’ skills are recognised consistently and makes it easier to understand learner progress.

We collaborated with stakeholders to align overlapping skills across pre-trade qualifications, existing micro-credentials, the New Zealand Certificate in Carpentry, and related areas such as Concrete Construction. We also explored how the pathway could be responsive to emerging skills, and inclusive of industry specialisations and advanced technical capabilities.

Find out about other work we’ve completed in the Building Pathways project

Download the Building Pathways Project Report (March 2025)

Building, Construction and Allied Trades Skills (BCATS) qualifications and standards review – Waihanga Ara Rau

Enhancing Carpentry Skills: New Standards for Industry – Waihanga Ara Rau

Sustainability in Construction: A Step Forward

Thank you | Ngā mihi

We’re grateful for the support and insights from learners, employers, industry associations, education providers and the project’s Technical Advisory and Steering Groups.
Thank you to everyone who shared feedback and welcomed us into your spaces to see and hear how the Building Pathway could better serve you.

We also gratefully acknowledge the generous financial support of ConCOVE Tūhura, which enabled a level of industry engagement that would not have otherwise been possible.