About New Zealand Diploma In Construction (quantity Surveying) in Southern Institute of Technology

This qualification provides the construction industry with people who have sufficient knowledge, understanding and skills to work with limited supervision as Quantity Surveyors. Students may be selected from suitably qualified school leavers, current construction practitioners and students wishing to start a different career in the construction industry.

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• Understand and apply knowledge of the roles, standard documentation and administrative requirements of the construction industry, and communicate in a construction related context
• Operate within the statutory and regulatory environment as it applies to the construction and design of buildings
• Manage construction and resource allocation, programming and construction activities, for medium and large buildings and understand the principles related to the provision of services
• Evaluate and select materials and finishes for building projects, taking into account environmental aspects of the design and construction techniques to be used
• Apply a broad knowledge of the structure and structural principles for building work including foundations, substructure, the envelope and the interior, and passive fire protection systems for medium and large buildings
• Analyse, select and administer construction contracts including the preparation of a tender submission from trade sections and other financial components and value building works up to and including final account statements
• Work in a team and identify organisational principles in a construction and consulting environment
• Analyse and present feasibility information and preliminary estimates to clients
• Assemble quantity surveying documentation relevant to specialist and specific trade sections and measure a schedule of quantities for a small building of an individual trade section, including services
• Collate all priced components into a tender submission for medium and large buildings using tender process knowledge.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the New Zealand Diploma in Construction with the strand in Quantity Surveying (Level 6) will be able to work as a:

• Quantity Surveyor. 

With further training and/or experience graduates of this Diploma may be able to work as a:

• Senior quantity surveyor
• Registered quantity surveyor
• Estimator
• Quantity surveying consultant/contractor
• Procurement manager
• Senior/Cost manager
• Quantity surveying tutor.

Satisfactory Completion

To satisfactorily complete the New Zealand Diploma in Construction (Quantity Surveying) (Level 6), and be awarded this qualification the student must successfully achieve:

• A minimum of 240 credits in accordance with the Programme schedule for the New Zealand Diploma in Construction (Quantity Surveying) (Level 6)
• The student will normally be expected to complete the New Zealand Diploma in Construction (Quantity Surveying) (Level 6), full-time over two years or part-time over a number of years

Please Note: Students failing to attend for 80% of the timetabled programme hours will forfeit Zero Fees entitlement.

School Leavers

Applicants should have one or more of the following:

• NCEA, with a minimum of 50 credits at Level 2 including 12 credits in Mathematics and a minimum of 12 Literacy credits
• NZ Trade Certificate in Carpentry, or National Certificate in Carpentry
• Be able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills with four years secondary education preferred.

Mature Applicants

Applicants over the age of 20 years at the time of enrolment will be considered where they can demonstrate the ability to succeed in a programme. Examples of demonstration of ability to succeed are the provision of evidence of successful completion of a programme of study at Level 3 or above in a related discipline and/or employment in the related sector for one or more years. They may be admitted subject to programme regulations approved by the Head of Faculty in consultation with the Programme Manager as appropriate.  Personal commitment and a belief in one’s own ability to succeed are important personal traits and will always be taken into consideration during the selection process.

Language Requirements

Applicants from countries with an annual student visa approval rate of at least 80 per cent, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following :

• NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or
• Certificate of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), or
• Successful completion of a Bachelor ‘s Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters’ Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States. 

or

• Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the preceding two years:

• IELTS test - Academic score of 6 with no band score lower than 5.5
• TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) – Score of 550 (with an essay score 5 TWE)
• TOEFL Internet- based test (iBT) – Score of 60 (with a writing score of 18)
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations – FCE or FCE for schools or CAE, or CPE   with a score of 169.  No less than 162 in each skill. OET at Grade C in all sub-tests
• NZCEL - a) To be discontinued on 31 December 2019 Level 4 Academic, b) Current Level 4 Academic
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) – PToE (Academic score of 50)
• City and Guilds IESOL – B2 Communicator with a score of 66
• LanguageCert - C1 Expert IESOL (LRWS) with PASS.

• An NZQA approved English Language proficiency test, where the student has achieved an outcome that is equivalent or better than those scores listed for Internationally recognised English language proficiency tests above in relation to the level of intended programme of study, or
• Completion of all primary education and at least three years’ secondary education at schools with English as the language of instruction, or
• Completion of five years of secondary education at schools with English as the language of instruction.  

Applicants from countries with an annual student visa approval rate below 80 per cent, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English must provide evidence that they:

1. Have gained NCEA Level 3 and met New Zealand University Entrance requirements, or
2. Have successfully completed a Bachelors' Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters’ Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States, or
3. Have achieved a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, CELTA, or
4. Have achieved the required score and with all scores achieved in a single test in one of the internationally recognised English Proficiency tests (specified above) within the preceding two years.

Southern Institute of Technology Highlights

New Zealand Living Expenses

You'll require between $20,000 and $25,000 a year ($380–480 per week) for housing/rent, food, transportation, phone bills, internet usage, and entertainment, in addition to your tuition and insurance fees. The average living expense will be the same for everyone, regardless of their tuition or course price. Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions; the Immigration New Zealand requirement is $15,000 per year including return travel or an additional $2,000.