Although most people are familiar with CSCS there are many views expressed regarding its purpose and what it means to have a CSCS card.  Read more

Up until July 2014 CSCS had issued over 700,000 green CSO cards. These cards were issued on completion of a Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Health, Safety & Environment test together with an Employer recommendation. The CSO cards were commonly viewed as the easiest card to obtain (the test takes less than one hour to complete) and held by a large cross section of the industry’s workforce, from Labourer and Skilled Worker to Site Manager and Professionals. In terms of the industry’s desire for a qualified workforce they were clearly not fit for purpose.  Read more

In the past many schemes, CSCS included, have been promoted as ‘Competency’ card schemes i.e. possession of a card automatically signifies the cardholder is competent to carry out a given task or job. Furthermore the industry has been keen to embrace this concept with cursory inspection of the card before individuals are allowed to work on site.  Read more

You are probably aware that in July CSCS stopped issuing green Construction Site Operative (CSO) cards.  As workers’ CSO cards expire, cardholders or their employers have to decide which card they should apply for next.  CSO card holders who do not have the required qualifications to apply for a Skilled card can apply for a Provisional card.  However, this option is only available until January 31st 2015.  Read more

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