Plasterer - Intermediate Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship Summary
The construction industry continues to experience strong demand for skilled plasterers across both new build and refurbishment sectors. From domestic extensions to large commercial developments and heritage restorations, plastering plays a critical role in creating durable, high-quality finishes that are both functional and aesthetically refined.
Offering an Intermediate Apprenticeship in Plastering brings clear advantages to employers. Apprenticeships provide a pipeline of talent, enabling businesses to train individuals in line with current industry standards and company-specific methods. By investing in apprentices, employers can shape a loyal, skilled workforce equipped with up-to-date knowledge, sustainable construction practices, and health and safety awareness.
For prospective apprentices, this pathway offers an exciting opportunity to gain hands-on experience while working toward a nationally recognised qualification. Apprentices learn the craft of plastering through practical and theoretical training—whether applying traditional wet plaster to walls and ceilings, working with dry lining systems, or specialising in fibrous plasterwork to produce decorative architectural features like cornices, ceiling roses, and mouldings.
Plasterers work across a range of environments, from site-based teams delivering high-quality finishes in modern builds, to workshops producing ornate elements for prestigious heritage buildings—or even the film industry. The apprenticeship develops core technical skills, collaboration with other trades, problem-solving ability, and environmental responsibility through material selection, waste management, and safe working practices.
Completing this apprenticeship opens doors to further progression, including specialisation in solid or fibrous plastering or external rendering. Whether you’re an employer building a resilient team or an individual ready to start a skilled and rewarding career, the Intermediate Apprenticeship in Plastering provides a strong foundation for future success.
Apprenticeship standard dates
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Anytime
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Bispham Campus
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Anytime
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Bispham Campus
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Next steps
As an Employer
If you would like to offer this as an apprenticeship vacancy within your organisation, enrol one of your existing employees on this apprenticeship or simply find out more about supporting an apprenticeship within your organisation, please complete the Enquire Now form above and a member of our Business Development Team will be in touch within 2 working days to advise you on next steps.
As an Apprentice
If you are interested in securing an apprenticeship as a Plasterer, please visit our Vacancies page to check for any suitable roles.
If there are currently no roles available, please submit an enquiry form using the Enquire Now button above to register your interest. We will use this information to let you know when a suitable vacancy becomes available and also to advise you of any courses we offer that might advance your career goals in the meantime.
Key information
Entry Requirements
Apprentices without level 1 English and maths will need to achieve this level and apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to take the tests for this level prior to taking the end-point assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.
Please note: Where wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is a mandatory requirement of the course, it is the responsibility of the learner to ensure that they are able to wear such equipment. Further information can be obtained at the IAG session which all applicants are invited to or by calling Course Enquiries on 01253 504343.
How will the Apprenticeship be funded?
As the employer
How your apprenticeship is funded will depend on whether or not you pay the Apprenticeship Levy. If you do pay the Levy, your apprenticeship will be funded out of this, provided you have sufficient monies available. If you do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy, 95% of the apprenticeship will be funded by the Government, with the remaining 5% being funded by you. There may also be some further incentives offered by the Government which we will be able to advise you of when setting up your apprenticeship. Either way, B&FC's Business Development Team will be on hand to help you navigate the funding arrangements and support you through this process.
As the apprentice
One of the benefits of an apprenticeship is that, as the apprentice, you are not required to fund your training. You will also receive a wage for the work that you do with minimum hourly rates set by the Government. Your employer can choose to pay you more than the minimum wage, but they cannot pay you less. For details of current minimum wage rates for apprentices, please visit the Government website.
What will my Apprentice learn?
Knowledge
Your apprentice will develop a sound understanding of:
- Health, safety and welfare legislation, including HASWA, COSHH, LOLER, PUWER, RIDDOR, asbestos awareness, fire safety, working at height/confined spaces, and electrical safety.
- Safe systems of work: site inductions, toolbox talks, risk assessments, use of PPE/RPE/LEV, incident types, and hazard control.
- Environmental and sustainability principles: pollution control, waste management, sustainable materials, and building thermal, acoustic, and airtightness considerations.
- Construction principles and materials: plastering systems (solid, rendering, dry lining, fibrous), background preparation, insulation, DPM/DPC, expansion joints, and material characteristics.
- Reading and interpreting technical information from drawings, specifications, and digital modelling systems.
- Material estimation and stock handling: calculating quantities, storage, rotation, and protection of finished work.
- Communication, teamwork, inclusion, diversity, and well-being awareness.
Skills
Your apprentice will learn how to:
- Apply health, safety, environmental controls, including correct PPE use, safe working practices, and access equipment.
- Interpret drawings/specifications, estimate materials, prepare work areas, and manage stock rotation.
- Operate and maintain hand and power tools; protect finished work and surroundings.
- Perform solid plastering, rendering, and fibrous plaster techniques: mixing, application (beads, coats, angles), finishing, repairs, and installation.
- Install and finish plasterboard: cutting, bonding, joint reinforcement, and sealing.
- Manufacture and install fibrous plaster components: moulding, casting, marking, cutting, and repair.
- Use and apply traditional and modern render materials (e.g., sand/cement, silicone-based, lime plasters) in accordance with background suitability.
- Carry out background surface preparation including mechan
- Communicate effectively and work collaboratively with colleagues, trades, managers, and customers.
Behaviours
Your apprentice should be able to:
- Prioritise health, safety, and well-being in all tasks.
- Work sustainably and consider environmental impact in materials and processes.
- Support an inclusive culture and respect diversity.
- Commit to ongoing professional development and competency improvement.
- Collaborate with and support the wider team to achieve project goals.
Expert Tutors
All tutors involved in the delivery of courses and apprenticeships within the College are approved to teach the subjects and modules they deliver.
Our recruitment process ensures that tutors delivering a given programme are suitably qualified and, where appropriate, possess relevant technical and industrial experience and a familiarity with professional practice. This is especially important for apprenticeships where off-the-job training needs to align with apprentices' on-the-job experience.
How will the Apprenticeship be delivered?
The apprenticeship will typically be delivered over a 24-month period with an additional 3 months to prepare for the End Point Assessment. Apprentices' time will typically be split 80:20 throughout the apprenticeship programme with four days a week spent at the employer premises learning on the job and one day a week spent off-site, undertaking classroom-based and workshop-based training at B&FC.
What support will I get from B&FC?
As the employer
Each employer is supported by an experienced member of our Business Development Team to set up their apprenticeship. For those employers who are completely new to the apprenticeship process, the Team will support them with all the necessary paperwork and administration to get their apprenticeship programme up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. For existing employers, their dedicated Client Services Manager will be an ongoing point of contact for all their apprenticeship queries, however big or small.
We can also help employers who are looking to recruit new apprentices by advertising their vacancy, finding suitable applicants and supporting them with the interview and selection process. Once an apprentice is onboard, our Curriculum Tutors and Apprenticeship Trainers and Skills Coaches also step in to support the employer-apprentice relationship and ensure the apprentice is on track to succeed.
As the apprentice
In the first instance, we aim to give potential apprentices all the support they need to find a suitable apprenticeship. That can mean working with them prior to an application to improve their CV, hone their interview skills and advise them of any additional training that may help them secure an apprenticeship vacancy.
Once they start their apprenticeship, we continue to support them with their off-site training and with regular meetings with our Apprenticeship Trainers and Skills Coaches to ensure they are progressing and acquiring all the knowledge, skills and behaviours that will ensure they complete their apprenticeship successfully.
How will the Apprenticeship be assessed?
What is an end-point assessment and why it happens
An EPA is an assessment at the end of the apprenticeship. The EPA is the apprentice's opportunity to show an independent assessor how well they can carry out the occupation they have been trained for. Apprentices need to compile a portfolio of evidence which showcases all the work they have carried out during their apprenticeship.
The overall grades available for this apprenticeship are:
- fail
- pass
- distinction
When the apprentice passes the EPA, they will be awarded their apprenticeship certificate.
Assessment methods
The EPA comprises three distinct components:
Multiple-choice test
The apprentice will complete a multiple-choice 'closed book' test which means they will not have access to any books or reference materials. The test has 40 multiple-choice questions and a 60 minute time limit.
Practical assessment with questions
The apprentice will completed a series of tasks observed by an independent assessor. The tasks will take a total of 12 hours during which the assessor will ask at least six questions to determine understanding and competence.
Interview underpinned by a portfolio of evidence
The apprentice will also have an hour-long interview with an independent assessor during which they will be asked a series of questions designed to test the knowledge, skills and behaviours they have acquired in the course of their apprenticeship. These will be based on a portfolio of evidence they have previously submitted to the assessor which demonstrates these competencies.