Masonry Association of Great Britain Launches National Academy with NOCN Group as Key Skills Partner
Posted 28 July 2025
The newly established Masonry Association of Great Britain (MAGB) has launched the National Masonry Academy (NMA); an ambitious new training initiative aimed at tackling the critical skills shortage in the UK masonry sector.
With NOCN Group as its skills solutions provider and strategic partner, the Academy is set to deliver high-quality, employer-led training programmes designed to get learners job-ready and raise standards across the industry.
Led by CEO Eve Livett, MAGB has identified skills development and access to robust training as core pillars of its mission. She says:
“There’s a huge demand in the masonry sector for a central body that supports training, apprenticeships, and upskilling. Partnering with NOCN Group ensures that we’re aligned with an internationally respected organisation focused on industry-led qualifications.”
The Academy will offer NOCN Group’s NVQs in Bricklaying and the new Brickwork Technician NVQ – a Qualification Livett helped develop alongside the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and NOCN Group to meet industry demands for competence and building safety compliance. Longer-term plans include delivering apprenticeships, higher-level NVQs, and the NOCN Group Level 2 Extended Technical Occupational Entry for Bricklaying (Diploma).
The first National Masonry Academy centre is being developed in Sheffield, with more planned across the UK. Livett adds:
“This isn’t about competing with colleges. It’s about collaborating, filling gaps, and helping employers access the kind of training they’ve long needed but couldn’t easily find.”
The move signals a new model for skills development in construction – one that other niche areas of the sector may soon look to replicate.
With over a decade of experience in trade associations, workforce development, and skills strategy, Eve Livett is a recognised leader in vocational training and construction industry advocacy. Before founding MAGB, Eve served as CEO of the Association of Brickwork Contractors (ABC), where she played a pivotal role in championing high standards in bricklaying training and assessment. She has sat on industry qualification development boards, supported assessment centre operations, and managed end-to-end training delivery models.
Read more about this in the NOCN Group National Masonry Academy case study and in Eve Livett’s guest blog on the future of masonry skills.