building your community

Building Control Officer

Introduction

Building control officers (BCOs) work in the building industry, ensuring that regulations on public health, safety, energy conservation and disabled access are met.

Around 3,000 building control offices are employed in local government or approved inspectors throughout the UK. They are found in district, metropolitan (including London boroughs) and unitary councils but not in county councils.

Work Environment

BCOs work some of the time in offices writing reports, commenting on plans etc and the remainder of their time on building sites of varying size making regular inspections on the work of builders.

Daily Activities

Almost every new building or structural alteration requires building regulation approval. Application for such approval and planning permission is via the local authority building control, or to a private Approved Inspector for building regulation control. Once both approval and planning permission have been granted, it is the building control officer’s job to inspect the work at various stages.

In addition to their work on safety and planning regulation enforcement, if consulted at a sufficiently early stage in a building project, their advice can save time and money on a range of issues.

Ultimately they have powers to prosecute builders if the work does not conform to the specified requirements, although they would prefer to use this as a means of last resort. Most of the routine inspections are conducted as work progresses on site. Building control officers may be involved from anything from a kitchen extension to an entire town-centre complex. They normally keep a running record of how each project is progressing and, once complete, may issue a certificate.

While the majority of the work is concerned with construction, building control departments within local government also approve demolitions and carry out surveys of potentially dangerous buildings. Some inspections may arise in the wake of comments from members of the public calling to say they believe a particular building looks dangerous, or that it has suffered as the result of an accident or the weather. This tends to happen a great deal after storms and freak weather conditions.

Skills & Interests

BCOs must have a broad knowledge of all aspects of building work, in addition to being familiar with complex building regulations and legislation. They must have the technical knowledge in order to talk authoritatively with site managers and builders.

They must be good communicators both in writing and verbally, and posses excellent organisational and administrative skills. An interest in building is a must, as is the ability to relate well with people and demonstrate a logical approach to problem solving.

Entry Requirements

Minimum entry qualifications are five GCSE/Standard grade passes at grade C or better, including maths, a science and proof of English language ability. Many employers will look to degree-level entrants, however. There is an S/NVQ Level 4 in Building Control available, providing an alternative route into the profession.

Length of training varies according to the trainee’s background, with non-graduate entrants normally obtaining a BTEC Higher National Diploma or Certificate in Building Studies via day or block release. These are followed by professional examinations set by the Association of Building Engineers or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Graduate entrants may be exempted from some stages.

Estimated salary range

£21,900 - £32,600 depending on region and responsibility.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

Building control officers can move into senior building control officers\’ posts, and then onto the head of the service. Officers usually move to another council to gain promotion, although this is not always necessary.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occupations in Building Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Building Control careers information www.rics.org/Careerseducationandtraining/Careersinsurveying/Careersinbuildingcontrol/

Association of Building Engineers www.abe.org.uk

Local Authority Building Control www.labc-services.co.uk

Construction Skills www.citb.co.uk

Academy for Sustainable Communities www.ascskills.org.uk

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library - under BB

What should I do next?

Look for current local government Building Control Officer vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers - The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in - ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.