This occupation is found in the construction, built environment and engineering sectors, with civil engineers employed in a variety of organisation types and sizes.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide the technical management of civil engineering tasks and activities, or projects, which includes the planning, design, construction, management, maintenance or dismantling of:
Civil engineers use and apply advanced engineering knowledge, underpinned by advanced scientific and mathematical principles and theories, whilst using a range of methods, techniques, and procedures to deliver civil engineering solutions. They do so by sourcing, reviewing, interpreting, critically analysing and evaluating a range of data and information, specifying materials or processes, and propose and deliver solutions for civil engineering problems, evaluating performance and support continuous improvement.
With the need to mitigate the detrimental effects on the environment and an increased drive for carbon emission reduction, improvements in building performance and sustainability, civil engineers will consider the whole life cycle of a civil engineering asset, ensuring civil engineering systems and projects align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), respond to carbon net-zero emissions targets, and are compliant with environmental and sustainability policies and legislation, including the climate change act.
Civil engineers will prepare, produce and present civil engineering information, designs and documentation, with regard for the practical need to construct, manage and maintain, and improve civil engineering equipment and systems, and to relevant codes of practice and industry standards, to statutory and regulatory requirements (such as the Building Safety Act 2022, BSI Flex 8670, Construction (Design and Management) (CDM)), and complying with health, safety and wellbeing requirements.
They use appropriate analytical and computational software, including engineering analysis software (such as CAD or Revit software), to prepare, produce, and communicate civil engineering solutions, recognising the limitations of the techniques and outputs produced. Many civil engineers now use digital data modelling processes and systems, such as Building Information Management (BIM), using ISO 19650 standards, to manage information over the whole life cycle of a civil engineering asset (such as the information required for the ‘golden thread’).
Civil engineers will be responsible for initiating, planning, and managing tasks, projects or processes, the team members, or specialist technical input, and wider resources needed, whilst applying appropriate project, financial, legal and commercial management knowledge and techniques, using quality management systems and risk assessment procedures to mitigate risks, and to improve safe systems and security.
They will also commission, carry out, or review site inspections or surveys, report progress against performance criteria, and check specified technical aspects of design, site, construction or manufacturing activities.
In their daily work, employees interact with their line manager, often a senior engineer or project manager, and their team members, to determine, manage, and review tasks, projects and programmes of work, agreeing individual and team responsibilities; they do so to design, produce and evaluate civil engineering solutions, ensuring they are fit for purpose, safe, secure, environmentally sustainable, and meet customer and industry specifications.
Civil engineers will regularly work with other civil engineers and technicians, and specialist contactors for which they may be responsible for. They will also collaborate with others working in a range of disciplines, and from various employer types (e.g., clients, consultancies, contractors); these might include building services engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, surveyors, architects, project managers, planners, environmental practitioners, legal or finance teams, where they will need to communicate effectively in relation to technical and project matters.
Depending on their employer, civil engineers will also communicate and collaborate with those outside their own organisation, including clients or customers, consultants or contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, and with stakeholders or with representatives from appropriate regulatory bodies.
Civil engineers, depending on their employer, will spend their time in an office environment, working on site, working remotely or a combination of these.
Employees are responsible for designing, delivering and managing civil engineering technical solutions to specification, ensuring accuracy and quality, within financial, time, resource, commercial and legal limits, and compliant with health and safety regulations, to industry, regulatory and legislative standards, including the Building Safety Act 2022. They must also comply with health and safety regulations, including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Construction (Design and Management) regulation, and environmental and sustainability policies.
They are able to make decisions, exercising sound independent engineering judgement, whilst knowing their own limits of authority when undertaking the occupational duties in a range of contexts and environments, adapting to issues that arise, informing the actions to be taken and reviewing the effectiveness of these actions. They are also responsible for their own, and promoting the benefits of, equality, diversity and inclusion and continuing professional development, and recognising their own obligations to society.
Whilst individual employers will set the selection criteria for their Apprenticeships, employers will work with their chosen training provider to agree specific entry requirements. However, candidates will typically have completed a relevant level 3 or 4 apprenticeship in the field, or have relevant qualifications, such as a BTEC Diploma, T-Level, A levels, or Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Diploma (HND) in civil engineering, construction, or physical and mathematical sciences.
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Duty 1 Deliver solutions to broadly defined civil engineering problems, by preparing, producing and presenting engineering diagrams and documents, to engineering specifications, industry codes of practice, regulations, standards, and procedures. |
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Duty 2 Deliver appropriate and effective technical civil engineering solutions, through the identification, selection, review and evaluation of data and technical information, and the use of a range of appropriate engineering analytical methods, techniques, processes, and technologies. |
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Duty 3 Manage civil engineering tasks or projects, and the input of others, by applying project, team and quality management principles and techniques to effectively identify, organise and manage resources, budgets or costs. |
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Duty 4 Contribute to the design and development of civil engineering systems, checking the systems meet the requirements of the end user or business need, and that relevant industry standards and procedures are adhered to. |
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Duty 5 Use a range of practical and workshop skills, selecting and applying appropriate materials, equipment, technologies and processes, to plan, undertake, analyse and evaluate civil engineering activities. |
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Duty 6 Use analytical and engineering analysis software (such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), digital data modelling systems (such as Building Information Management (BIM), and other techniques), recognising the limitations of the techniques used, to inform, develop or manage civil engineering solutions. |
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Duty 7 Ensure compliance with health, safety & welfare requirements, apply safe systems of work (including for example the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Construction (Design and Management) regulations), understanding the safety implications of their works, ensuring they apply and improve safe systems of work. |
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Duty 8 Identify, evaluate and mitigate risks associated with their work, and in the tasks and activities they are responsible for. |
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Duty 9 Comply with relevant policies, standards, regulations, legislation, strategies, technical guidance, and codes of practice, for example Building Safety Act 2022 or BSI Flex 8670, ensuring they are interpreted, implemented and communicated correctly and appropriately. |
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Duty 10 Comply with environmental policies and legislation, practice sustainable principles, evaluating how these impact on civil engineering, and how these assist in the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and reducing carbon emissions. |
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Duty 11 Use data, information and quality management, and assurance systems and processes, for example ISO 19650, recognising the need for these in managing civil engineering information (for example, information relating to the golden thread) and their application in continuous improvement. |
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Duty 12 Communicate and liaise effectively with others internal and external to their organisation, such as customers or specialist contractors, respecting the need for the confidentiality and security of data and information. |
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Duty 13 Work reliably and effectively with others, taking responsibility for their own work and the input of others, and where appropriate, managing others. |
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Duty 14 Ensure compliance with equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) and ethical standards, recognising the importance of these in the workplace. |
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Duty 15 Plan and maintain their own learning and skills development by carrying out continuing professional development in line with professional codes of conduct and/or industry specifications and obligations, and promoting the benefits of this to others. |
K1: Engineering principles, underpinned by theoretical and technical scientific, mathematical and statistical knowledge.
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K2: Engineering techniques, procedures and methods used to measure, test and analyse the performance of civil engineering components and systems.
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K3: Analytical tools and techniques to support integrated or systems-based approaches to problem solving.
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K4: Properties of, identification and selection criteria for materials, components, or parts, and processes used in civil engineering.
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K5: Techniques and methods used to research and collect, data and technical information.
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K6: Civil engineering design principles and control processes, including the factors that affect design, and the compliance with building safety and health and safety legislation, codes of practice and industry standards.
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K7: Technical drawings, designs, and analytical and computer-based techniques.
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K8: The use and limitations of computational and digital models, including Building Information Modelling (BIM).
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K9: Industry policies, standards, regulations and legislation, and codes of practice: Building Safety Act 2022 or BSI Flex 8670, Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) or Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB).
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K10: Statutory health, safety and welfare legislation and regulations including Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) and policies and procedures to enable safe systems of work.
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K11: Hazard and risk assessment, evaluation, and mitigation processes, in the civil engineering environment.
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K12: Principles of sustainable development and their impact on the lifecycle of civil engineering solutions, including United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and net-zero carbon emissions, environmental policies and legislations, the environmental protection and the climate change acts.
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K13: Project management techniques: quality and information management, assurance systems and continuous improvement processes.
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K14: Methods for planning, managing and resourcing civil engineering projects, and the impact on cost, quality, safety, security, environment, commercial and legal matters.
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K15: Methods of communication and when to use them, using appropriate engineering terminology and conventions.
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K16: Roles and responsibilities within organisation and the wider civil engineering sector.
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K17: Principles of teamwork and collaboration.
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K18: Relationships between organisations in the civil engineering sector (for example organisations, customers, partners and suppliers), including how these are affected by commercial and legal matters.
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K19: Equality, diversity and inclusion, including the Equality Act, their responsibilities, its benefits and importance.
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K20: Awareness of issues and common symptoms and warning signs of stress, anxiety and depression, plus where to go for help and the resources available.
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K21: Ethical principles and practices, including the implications to legal, civil, reputational and professional risk.
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K22: Methods to maintain and enhance professional competence and technical knowledge (CPD).
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S1: Apply engineering principles to solve engineering problems: scientific, theoretical and technical principles.
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S2: Apply civil engineering techniques, procedures and methods, and review and evaluate the results, including measuring and testing, designing, installing, commissioning, constructing, maintaining or operating civil engineering components and systems; consider how continuous improvement can contribute to improved performance.
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S3: Employ mathematical, statistical and data interpretation tools, using analytical and computational methods, and apply an integrated or systems-based approach.
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S4: Identify, interpret and compare information to select materials, components or parts used in civil engineering.
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S5: Research, collect, select and evaluate technical literature and other sources of data and information to address, analyse and evaluate civil engineering problems.
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S6: Produce civil engineering technical solutions in accordance with relevant industry standards, policies, codes of practice, regulations, and legislation.
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S7: Select and apply computational and analytical techniques to model civil engineering problems, recognising the limitations of the techniques employed.
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S8: Contribute to the design, development and implementation of civil engineering solutions, and evaluate their effectiveness in the context of the whole project life cycle.
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S9: Manage and comply with statutory health, safety and welfare policies, procedures and regulation, and contribute to improvements in health, safety and welfare, within their own area of responsibility.
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S10: Complete risk assessments to identify, evaluate, manage and mitigate risks.
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S11: Apply principles of sustainable development and evaluate their effectiveness on the whole project lifecycle of civil engineering solutions.
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S12: Manage engineering activities that contribute to sustainable development and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
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S13: Apply project management techniques, identifying, measuring, recording and reporting progress against civil engineering project performance criteria.
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S14: Manage quality processes and contribute to quality improvements.
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S15: Plans and manages resources, equipment and technology, to meet project requirements, specifications, costs and budgets and timescales, with an appreciation of statutory and commercial arrangements.
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S16: Monitor and manage individual performance, and the input of others, recognising the need to adapt to, and communicate, changing demands.
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S17: Comply with appropriate codes of practice and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) requirements.
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S18: Communicate in verbal and written contexts using appropriate methods for the audience. Use appropriate engineering terminology and conventions.
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S19: Apply teamwork and collaboration principles.
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S20: Apply ethical principles, identifying and analysing ethical concerns and making reasoned ethical choices.
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S21: Plan, undertake and review their own professional competence, regularly updating, recording and reviewing their continuing professional development (CPD).
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B1: Works to health, safety and welfare requirements, safe systems of work, industry standards, statutory regulation and legislation, policies, and codes of practice, and ensuring others do likewise.
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B2: Makes decisions, exercising sound independent engineering judgement, whilst knowing their own limits of authority and when to ask for help or to escalate.
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B3: Works effectively, individually and as part of a team.
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B4: Solves problems with attention to detail, accuracy, and diligence, and seeks to continually improve.
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B5: Promotes equality, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, maintains professional working relationships with internal, external, and connected stakeholders, and makes reasoned ethical choices.
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B6: Takes responsibility for their own professional development, seeking opportunities to extend and enhance their knowledge, skills, and experience, and support others, in line with professional codes of conduct.
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English and maths qualifications must be completed in line with the apprenticeship funding rules.
This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:
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