As per the recent study, in construction industry migrants popular work choice is the work of labourer. If you are looking to find a job in the construction sector then you must have heard of CSCS i.e. Construction Skill Certification Scheme. To get a job in the construction industry you first need to get a CSCS Card.
CSCS gives health and safety training to workers in UK's construction industry to keep its workers safe and run the sites smoothly without interruptions and ensure the minimum number of accidents and mishappenings.
Are ground workers eligible to apply for CSCS Card?
Yes. Workers who are working as labourer or are involved in normal ground work can apply for Green CSCS Card.
Read more: Types of CSCS Cards
Construction Skill Certification Scheme (CSCS) is run by CITB (Construction Industry Training Board.
What is CITB?
The CITB in an organisation which is Government set up and is made to work with various construction companies across the United Kingdom to make the construction industry a safe and reputed industry to work.
CSCS and CITB were set up with an objective to reduce the number of accidents on construction site and help them to run smoothly. CITB also runs a different scheme which is related to shop fitters.
How many types of CSCS cards are there?
There are different kind of jobs available on construction site and different job require different skill set. To support all these jobs and skillset different types of CSCS cards are there which are suitable from labourer to managerial level.
The colour of the card is different for different trade like for labourer it is green in colour while manager card is black in colour.
Validity of CSCS Cards
Except for few CSCS Cards, most of the CSCS cards are valid for 5 years.
Can I renew the card after expiry?
Yes. After fulfilling the required criteria you can easily apply for the renewal of the expired CSCS card.
Please note there are only a few cards that are non-renewable like red provisional card etc.
One of the most popular question is "I am working as labourer or construction worker and I need Green Card to work on-site. What qualifications do I need to get CSCS Card?"
For Green Card the basic requirements are:
1. You need to pass CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test for operative.
2. You need to pass Level One Award in Health and Safety or Health, Safety and Awareness Course popularly known as HSA. These are also popularly known as cscs card course.
Read: How to successfully complete CSCS Course?
Read: Importance of CSCS Card
What is the difference between Level One Award in Health and Safety or Health, Safety and Awareness Course?
Level One Award in Health and Safety is valid for lifetime and can be treated as a qualification while on the other hand Health, Safety and Awareness Course is valid for 5 years and after 5 years at the time of renewal you need to again sit in the course and have to pass it.
The content delivered in both the courses (Level one award and HSA) are almost similar and passing the same makes you eligible to get cscs card labourer but there is a huge difference between the validity of these courses. One is valid for lifetime while another course has validity of only 5 years.
Doing a course is a costly affair and you can seek financial help and support to enrol and finish it but this is a mandatory element if you are willing to apply for green labourer card. Without completion of course you will not be in a position to get a cscs card.
Once I pass CITB test and Health, Safety and Awareness course what to do next to apply for CSCS card?
Once you pass both CSCS test or CITB test and Level one award for health and safety or Health, Safety and Awareness course you can directly contact CSCS and can apply for the card.
There are multiple companies which are affiliate organisations which help individuals and companies to get CSCS cards but they charge admin charges on top of the basic amount which is charged by CSCS.
If you are looking to contact CSCS directly then you can apply to them over the phone or online.
Read more: Applying for CSCS Card
Read more: All about CITB test
How can I contact CSCS (Construction Skill Certification Scheme)?
You can visit the website of CSCS and can apply for the cscs card.
For more information you can also write to us at constructioncards@gmail.com.