Skills card and registration requirements for suppliers

Introduction

Skills card schemes

Health, safety and environment tests

Construction Plant Competence Scheme

Further information

Introduction

Registration and skills cards are issued by the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) or an affiliate partner scheme.

A partner scheme can include those within a National Highway Sector Scheme (NHSS) such as the Fencing Industry Skills Scheme (FISS) and the Land-based Industry Skills Scheme (LISS). Partnership cards will also include the CSCS logo or mark. Cards may be physical, e-cards or virtual cards - the latter two will need suitable equipment to read the information on them.

We usually require contractors and sub-contractors to be registered to a relevant NHSS. Our contractors are represented on NHSS committees through their membership of a trade association. Their representatives provide information on best industry practice including identifying the minimum competencies, skill sets, qualifications and training requirements expected of workers. This provides the basic industry standard that is acceptable to us and other overseeing organisations.

We accept CSCS cards that are included in an NHSS. However, NHSSs often include additional minimum requirements beyond CSCS registration, such as refresher training. CSCS-registered operatives also need to comply with these requirements.

Please note that despite the similarity in names, NHSSs are not part of National Highways and are not managed by us.

Skills card schemes

If you win a National Highways contract and work is specified in accordance with the Specification for Highway Works (SHW), you'll need to register with an NHSS for specific areas of work.

NHSS is a partnership between industry, highway authorities, certification industry, training/competency bodies and others such as the Health & Safety Executive and UKAS. NHSSs are management schemes that focus on quality as an objective and are recognised as the industry standard complementing ISO Management Standards. Among other things, they set minimum qualifications and training standards that you need for workers.

Registration and skills cards for workers on the National Highways network are issued by CSCS or by a CSCS partnership scheme (see introduction above).

You should recognise that a CSCS card can include multiple skills and occupations, whereas a partnership card may only relate to a specific industry occupation, for example, the Lantra partnership card for temporary traffic management.

The adoption of the CSCS card by BuildUK and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) and endorsement by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has significantly increased the uptake of skills cards. Several existing card schemes are affiliated or affiliating to the CSCS, but until individual cards are due for renewal, some unaffiliated existing cards may continue to be valid until they're renewed. Find out about partnership schemes here. 

The various accreditations and certifications include:

• NHSS registration - this is usually required for managing agent contracts and large contracts
• health and safety assessment certification - this is usually required for managing agent contracts and large contracts

Registration to an NHSS

To achieve registration to an NHSS, you need to:

• download the current Sector Scheme Document for the industry you require approval for - find the NHSS list on the schedule of suppliers website
• contact an NHSS-accredited certification body to arrange an audit – find the list of NHSS accredited certification bodies on the UKAS website

After a successful audit, your organisation will receive a certificate of registration/approval for your scope(s) of work. This will qualify you to work on National Highways roads or any contracts requiring sector scheme registration/approval.

Accepted skills card schemes

Checking workers’ skills cards

Suppliers registered to NHSS quality management schemes require workers to carry skills cards (or equivalent smart cards, e-cards or virtual cards) while working on our network. This means that suppliers are responsible for checking that:

• workers carrying out specific duties hold appropriate registration/skills cards (each card carries a photograph of the qualified holder)
• the card is valid for the function being carried out

These checks may require the supplier to refer to the skills card’s issuing authority. This is important because the Specification for Highway Works requires qualified workers to have gained specific National Vocational Qualifications and undertaken specialist training and refresher training relating to their trade activity e.g. vehicle restraint systems.

Health, safety and environment test for highway workers

Applicants for many of the skills card schemes will have to pass the Construction Industry Training Body (CITB) health, safety and environment test before being considered competent. See the table below to check which skills card schemes require the additional CITB test.

In association with the CITB, the NHSS has developed a specialist health and safety test for highway workers. This is the normal requirement for operatives working on the highway. There are some exceptions, for example, general fence installers have different health and safety requirements, particularly with regard to the use of plant.

The CITB test can be taken at many locations around the UK. Some are fixed test centres, others are mobile testing units which go to set locations on certain days of the week.

To register for the test, call the CITB Enquiry Line on 0344 994 4400, and for information on mobile testing call the Mobile Testing Helpline on 0344 994 4492.

You'll need to specify which CSCS or affiliated partnership card scheme you're applying for so that CITB can book you into the right category of test. Generally, highway workers will need to take the Highways test.

There are separate CITB tests for supervisors, and managers and professionals.

The Construction Plant Competence Scheme and the construction plant list

The Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) is a single skills card specifically for the plant sector of the construction industry. It proves plant operators’ craft skills across more than 60 categories of plant and machinery, as well as their health and safety awareness. The CPCS is owned and run by NOCN Job Cards (part of NOCN Group), which includes a range of plant and equipment industry organisations.

The CPCS skills card

The CPCS offers two levels of skills card - the red Trained Operator card, and the blue Competent Operator card. There are four stages of progression to gain and retain the blue Competent Operator card:

• Working towards a red Trained Operator card
• Moving from a Trained Operator card to a blue Competent Operator card
• Working directly towards a Competent Operator card
• Renewing a Competent Operator card

CPCS has worked with the Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) to support the skills shortage within the piling sector and will be piloting a new yellow Provisional card, which will be free of charge.

The CPCS Technical Test

The CPCS Technical Test applies across all CPCS categories. The test comes in two parts - a theory test and a practical test.

There is also an Advanced Technical Test for the blue Competent Operator card, also made up of a theory and practical test.

Renewing a blue card

To renew your blue Competent Operator skills card, you'll need to take a CPCS Renewal Theory Test at a CPCS Test Centre. You'll also need to either:

• record 300 operating hours in your logbook and present this to the Test Centre, or
• pass a CPCS Practical Test at the CPCS Test Centre - or at your workplace as an on-site assessment

On-site assessment is carried out by a CPCS-registered tester.

Finally, you need to record in your logbook all ongoing training, including health and safety refreshers or manufacturers updates.

Gaining a red or blue card

To gain a blue Competent Operator card, you'll need to pass the following qualifications:

• CITB health, safety and environment test
• Advanced CPCS Technical Test - including a theory test and practical test
• Relevant Scottish or National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQ)

To gain a red Trained Operator card, you'll need to pass:

• the CITB health, safety and environment test
• the CPCS Technical Test

Training for these qualifications can be done either in-house, or through training providers. The CPCS can also provide training.

You can find further information on CPCS here.  

You can also find a list of approved test centres. A test centre may deliver training using the same facilities provided for testing, as long as there's no conflict between the training and CPCS Technical Test delivery. You can find a list of training centres here.

CPCS Test Centres and approved S/NVQ centres

Operators will take their CITB health, safety and environment test and CPCS theory and practical tests for the CPCS red and blue cards at a CPCS Test Centre.

For the blue card, you'll also need to gain an appropriate S/NVQ from an approved S/NVQ centre, which might also be a CPCS Test Centre. If your local CPCS Test Centre is not an approved S/NVQ centre, it will be able to provide details of one.

CPCS-related NVQs or SNVQs that are awarded by Lantra are developed from and based on National Occupational Standards (NOS). Lantra is accredited to ISO 9001 and also registered with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

The National Plant Operators Registration Scheme (NPORS) provides training for the CPCS. It awards its own NPORS Operator Card. NPORS is accredited to ISO 9001 and its awards are based on NOS.

Highways occupations that don’t need a CPCS card

Some highways occupations that involve plant operation - such as fence erectors, asphalt layers and surface dressers - don't require a CPCS card. This is because plant competence is included in their CSCS skills card as part of the NVQ qualification. To check which highways occupations do not require a CPCS card, you can find the NHSS documents on the schedule of suppliers website. You'll find information about card requirements in Appendix C of each Scheme Document.

Regardless of whether or not highways workers require a CPCS card, if they need to drive categories of plant on the public highway, they must possess the appropriate driving licence.

Further information

National Highways customer contact centre

0300 123 5000

CSCS Helpline

0300 999 1177 (option 1, option 1)

CITB Enquiry Line

0344 994 4400

Mobile Testing Helpline

0344 994 4492

NHSS

NHSS documents on the schedule of suppliers website

NHSS information

CSCS

CSCS skills card types explained on the CSCS website

CSCS affiliated partner card schemes 

Construction-related occupations and skills cards information on the CSCS website

CSCS smart card check 

CITB health, safety and environment test information