Dave Mosley, CISRS Managing Director has urged cardholders not to panic following CSCS’ “Grandfather Rights” withdrawal announcement.
The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has recently announced plans to
phase out issuing cards under Industry Accreditation or ‘Grandfather Rights’.
The decision was been made to ensure all CSCS card applicants can demonstrate the achievement of a nationally-recognised construction-related qualification –
either NVQ/SVQ or as a minimum registration to a vocational qualification (VQ) by
2024.
In a press release, CISRS has said that the CSCS proposal will have very little impact on CISRS cardholders as those who hold current valid Scaffolder/Advanced cards but have not completed VQ (as it was not a requirement at the time of qualification into the scheme) will not be required to complete the qualification retrospectively.
CISRS withdrew Industry Accreditation over 30 years ago. NVQ/SVQ was introduced
to the CISRS Scheme in 1996. All those commencing training after this date have
been required to complete a VQ. This would apply for those who achieved through Assessed Route of Entry as a VQ was already a requirement.
The press release continues to read, The National Occupational Standard (NOS), which makes up the units of the VQ is based upon the practical and theoretical content of CISRS Scheme Part 1 and Part 2 for Level 2 VQ e.g. Health and Safety, Independents, Birdcage, Tower scaffolds etc and Advanced course content for Level 3 e.g. Organising of Equipment, Health and Safety, Suspended Scaffolds, Temporary roofs etc.
The course content has remained fairly stable since the formal introduction of the scheme in 1979, as such those who completed training prior to the introduction of a VQ have already covered the content of the NOS.
The introduction of CPD for scaffolders has also allowed the scheme to be viewed
favourably as it can ensure that its workforce is kept up to date with the most recent
guidance and regulation.
Read the full CISRS press release here.