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CSCS urges industry to prepare for Go Smart withdrawal
CM Staff
For more than 10 years employers have used card checking platform Go Smart to verify the skills, training and competence of Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card holders.
In 2023, CSCS announced Go Smart will be withdrawn on 31 March 2024 and urged the industry to put transition plans in place to move to its replacement CSCS Smart Check as soon as possible.
CSCS Smart Check can be built into existing systems or used as a standalone app, and represents a major step forward in building quality and safety. For the first time, all 2.1 million cards displaying the CSCS logo can be verified using a single interface and, following its successful development and rollout, Go Smart will no longer be available to industry from 1 April 2024.
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From this date, attempted CSCS card reads via Go Smart will not work. All existing users of Go Smart who wish to retain a card checking function as part of site induction and site access solutions must put transition plans in place to move across to Smart Check to ensure card checks can continue to take place.
In the first instance, employers should contact the IT provider responsible for their entry system technology to discuss a transition plan to Smart Check. These providers will then be able to access the API via CSCS and build it into site systems.
’Imperative to discuss with IT providers’
CSCS chief executive, Sean Kearns, said: “Now that CSCS Smart Check has been established it is imperative that employers discuss the removal of Go Smart with their IT providers and continue to check cards digitally from April onwards.
“Card checks via Smart Check are vital in ensuring that everyone entering a construction site has the right qualifications and training for the job they do – helping ensure safety on site and also enabling the industry to tackle card fraud.”
CSCS Smart Check was launched in April 2022 by the CSCS Alliance – the 38 card schemes that carry the CSCS logo – and is designed to improve the construction industry’s card checking procedures and site safety while helping tackle card fraud.
In addition to being available as an API for existing systems, Smart Check can also be used as a standalone app and is free to download via the App Store or Google Play.
CSCS has made its IT partners aware of the removal of Go Smart and any employers using site access or induction systems should contact their provider in the first instance.
Sites without Go Smart or any other card checking technology in place that are interested in integrating or using CSCS Smart Check should contact [email protected].
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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