CSCS Cards has reduced the minimum work placement required for its Industry Placement card from 30 days to three weeks. The move is intended to align the scheme with government guidance and improve tracking of new entrants into construction.
The change brings the card into line with the Department for Education’s updated requirements for level 2 and 3 construction qualifications, which specify a minimum three-week industry placement.
The card will continue to cover learners on T-levels, Foundation Apprenticeships and trade-related level 2 and 3 certificates and diplomas that include a placement of at least three weeks.
The changes also follow a request from the Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB), which wants all industry placements to be covered by a card scheme. The aim is to provide better data on how many learners progress from construction training into employment and where potential recruits are being lost.
It is estimated that the construction industry needs around 60,000 additional workers each year, making the transition from education into the workforce a key priority for the sector.
As part of the update, CSCS is also reducing the validity of the Industry Placement card from three years to two years, bringing it into line with the typical duration of the qualifications it supports.
Placement requirements
Garry Mortimer, executive director of operations at CSCS Cards, said: “These changes bring the Industry Placement card fully in line with the Department for Education’s own placement requirements.
“With the industry needing 60,000 additional workers every year, these changes make it easier for providers and employers to get new entrants onto the right card, while giving industry the data it needs to understand where learners are being lost on the way into the workforce.”
CSCS is also expanding the health and safety evidence accepted for the card. In addition to the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test for operatives, applicants will now be able to use a one-day Construction Health and Safety Awareness course certificate or evidence of completing a recognised construction health and safety unit within an induction or initial qualification, provided it has been completed within the previous two years.
The Industry Placement card is one of CSCS’s red entry-level cards for people entering the industry and can be applied for through the My CSCS app or CSCS online. Learners undertaking qualifications in sectors outside the CSCS scheme, including electrotechnical, HVAC and plumbing, should instead apply through the relevant CSCS Alliance card scheme.
