If a client has asked for evidence to ensure that your workforce is competent, you should provide records, not reassurance. You’ll want to provide card numbers and expiration dates, the qualifications for each and every CSCS card, Health, Safety and Environment test dates, and a written supervision structure. Ensure you pack all your information in one place, and provide it to every client, both today and for the future.
We get this call a few times a month.
Somebody’s been sent a form, the deadline is Friday, and the people on site can do the work but can’t prove their competence on paper.
And your management team is saying, “We need evidence that the workforce is competent.”
So, let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.
It usually comes down to one of these.
Prequalification, usually the Common Assessment Standard that most main contractors will run their entire supply chain.
CDM 2015, where it’s stated in Regulation 8 that whoever appoints you has to satisfy themselves with the skills and experience your workers have.
And the Building Safety Act. If your project has a higher-risk building or something went wrong on somebody else’s site and now everybody’s records are getting pulled.
Loads of people get this mixed up.
A CSCS Card is proof that the holder has gone through all those training and competence channels to get on site.
The Construction NVQ behind it all is the thing that really counts. Blue Skilled worker cards mean a Level 2 NVQ. Gold supervisory means level 3. Managers are level 6 or 7 with a black card.
Clients are asking to see the certificate, not just the card.
Since Grandfather rights expired on the 31st of December 2024, getting your CSCS card is the only way your getting that clients approval.
Let’s say you’ve got a supervisor. They excel at their job. In fact, they’re your go-to person.
They’ve been with you for, let’s say, five years. And they have never been late, and every project is completed ahead of time.
On site, this person is a machine. But still on a Blue CSCS card, they haven’t done the SSSTS, and there’s no reporting of the fantastic work they’ve been doing.
You want your team to be properly qualified on site, last thing you want is your top person to be sent off. It’ll hinder that entire process.
So, what we’re going to do right now is tell you what you need to make sure that doesn’t happen.
You’ll want to get them a SSSTS (Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme), which is a two-day course which will take them through how to keep the rest of your team safe.
Next, you’ll want to get them through the SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme) which is the five-day management version. Both are valid for 5 years, and it proves to clients that your workers know how to safely operate a worksite.
Because nothing demonstrates a competent workforce more than safety training.
Right, so the best thing to do is have everything in one place to send to the client. Last thing we want for your firm is last minute searches for that piece of important information.
So here’s what to include:
That final bullet point is very important.
If one of your employees hasn’t met their standards, being transparent and having a detailed plan to get them to the level is something clients will appreciate.
Most firms think that someone without a qualification means they’ll have to send them back to college.
That’s not the case, don’t worry.
Workers get qualified on-site with an assessor coming to them while working. That’s where the portfolio is built, and the work experience comes into full force. You’re not going to learn bricklaying in a classroom.
Here’s what you need to do.
Get a spreadsheet going.
One row per person, and columns for their role, card type, card number, when the card runs out, HS&E date, the qualification behind it, who awarded it, the certificate number, and the expiry on every other bit of safety training they hold.
Sort it by whatever runs out first and stick a reminder in the diary ninety days before.
One thing you’ve gotta get in your brain. A competent workforce and a provable one are two completely different things. Both are important, but only one gets you through that prequalification stage.
That’s proof the holder has the training and qualifications for their role, which is evidence rather than the whole answer. Clients will be using CSCS Smart Check and often ask for your certificate.
Both. SSSTS covers your safety side and the last five years. The gold CSCS card needs a Level 3 NVQ.
