Building control officer
Engineering and Maintenance

Related videos on a building control officer

How to become a building control officer

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• applying directly

University

You can do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in a relevant subject like:

• building studies
• civil engineering
• structural engineering
• building control
• building surveying

University (Entry requirements)

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could do a college course, which could help when you apply for trainee jobs in building control. Courses include:

• Level 3 Certificate in Construction and the Built Environment
• T level in Design, Surveying and Planning
• Level 4 Diploma in Building Control Surveying
• Level 4 Diploma in Civil Engineering

College (Entry requirements)

You may need:

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

Apprenticeship

You can do a building control surveyor degree apprenticeship.

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 degree apprenticeship

Direct application

You could move into building control from another job in construction, like quantity surveying or site management.

More info

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or The Chartered Institute of Building to help with your professional development.

Further information

You can find out more about careers and training in building control from:

• Chartered Association of Building Engineers
• The Chartered Institute of Building
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

What it takes

Skills & Knowledge

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
• knowledge of English language
• analytical thinking skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• thinking and reasoning skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restriction & Requirements

You'll need to:

• have a full driving licence

What you'll do

Day to day

Your day-to-day duties could include:

• working closely with architects, designers, builders and engineers
• suggesting ways to make building projects more cost effective 
• carrying out site inspections
• writing inspection reports and issuing completion certificates
• surveying unsafe buildings, giving advice or approving their demolition
• authorising entertainment licenses and checking safety at public venues and events

Working environment

You could work in an office or on a construction site. Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers and at height.

Career path and progression

Career path & progression

With experience, you could specialise in a particular area like fire safety, or move into technical and planning roles in other departments, for example town planning. You could also work as a consultant.