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Apprenticeship training course

Piling attendant (level 2)

Assisting in driving, boring and forming piles in the ground in order to provide firm support for buildings and structures.

Qualification level
2
Equivalent to GCSE.
Typical duration
18 months
Apprenticeship category
Construction and the built environment
Maximum funding
£15,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training.
Skills
Skills an apprentice will learn
  • Work safely on site and comply with environmentally responsible work practices
  • Supply information on the activities and progress of the work
  • Contribute to sustainable practices in piling operations
  • Manually handle loads
  • Sling and signal the movement of suspended loads during lifting operations
  • Carry out user maintenance on tools, piling plant and machinery
  • Guide and control the movement and operations of piling plant, machinery and vehicles
  • Off load and load vehicles
  • Operate powered units, tools, machinery and equipment specific to piling operations (e.g. concrete pumps, generators, compressors agitators, pressure washers or lighting sets)
  • Support, work as part of a team, to rig and derig piling plant and machinery
  • Monitor the delivery of concrete and take samples for testing
  • Transport, handle, pour, position and lay concrete and protect it for curing
  • Continuous Flight Auger: A continuous flight augering drill is used to excavate a hole and concrete is injected through a hollow shaft under pressure as the auger is extracted. This creates a continuous pile without ever leaving an open hole
  • Rotary Large Diameter: uses a bored piling machine with specially designed drilling tools, buckets and grabs to remove soil and rock. The auger with 4 or 5 turns of flight is bored into the ground, withdrawn, and the spoil removed. This process is repeated until the design depth is reached. Reinforcement is then positioned and concrete placed.
  • Driven - Pre-cast: metal or pre-cast concrete piles are usually top-driven using hydraulic drop hammers, some of which are super-silenced. Pre-cast concrete piles can be designed for compression and nominal tension and bending, accommodation of compression and tension, and with full moment-transfer joints
  • Sheet or Vibro: Vibratory pile hammers contain a system of counter-rotating eccentric weights, powered by hydraulic motors, and designed in such a way that horizontal vibrations cancel out, while vertical vibrations are transmitted into the pile. The pile driving machine is lifted and positioned over the pile by means of an excavator or crane, and is fastened to the pile by a clamp and/or bolts. Vibratory hammers can either drive in or extract a pile; extraction is commonly used to recover steel "H" piles used in temporary foundation shoring (sheet piling)
  • Identify excavated soils and types of rock
  • Apply first aid "At Work"

Full information on Piling attendant (level 2) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

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