One Year to the Olympics: Are You Qualified?

By | July 27, 2011

Olympics ConstructionThe Olympics 2012 project has one year left to run. The eternal flame will be lit and the games will commence. In the intervening time, though, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

And after the games have finished there’ll be a lot more, with a planned £135m worth of regeneration and changeover works to take place once the dust has settled. Now is the time to ensure that your CSCS Card qualifications are everything you want them to be.

Your Blue and Gold CSCS Cards and the Olympic Regeneration Project

When the bids are all in and the Olympic regeneration project is underway, it’ll be the workers with Blue CSCS Cards and Gold CSCS Cards that get the pick of the trade jobs. Their CSCS Blue Card, CSCS Gold Card or ECS Card will be proof positive to both site owners and employing companies (there’s one big company currently favourite to net all the post Olympic regenerative work but it is likely to use contractors) that they have achieved the Level of Construction NVQ relevant to their experience and knowledge of the job.

The Construction NVQ is the only way that the company or subcontractor employing you can be sure that you have been tested in the skills you claim to have. Your Blue CSCS Card or Gold CSCS Card (the two are both awarded to Skilled Workers, with either a Construction NVQ Level 2 or 3 respectively) holds data about your qualifications on a Smart Card Chip – so your potential employer knows that you are qualified to the NVQ Level he or she wants.

The Construction NVQ and Your Job Skills

CSCS CardsThere are plenty of UK construction workers who have all the skills necessary to obtain the Construction NVQ Level they require, but who have yet to get NVQ in their trades. If you’re one of them, don’t worry. There’s no need to miss time away from your job while you get the qualification.

Construction Site Skills provides a Construction NVQ in a number of trades including Carpentry; Bricklaying; Plastering; Painting; Tiling; Electrical; Joinery; Welding; Roofing; Dry Lining;  Plumbing and many more. Usually  there is no need to take time off work to achieve the qualification you need. We can send a qualified On Site Assessor to your workplace to measure your knowledge and experience against the NVQ requirements.

Why Your CSCS Card is More Important than Ever

The majority of UK building sites have advanced from the “No CSCS Card, no work” model to “Incorrect CSCS Card, No Work”. The CSCS Smart Card was brought in to stop UK construction workers claiming qualifications they didn’t have: because the Smart Card Chip contains all your relevant information, including your photograph, site owners (as noted) can be 100% sure that you have the skills your card says you do. As a result, non ownership of the right CSCS Card (Gold CSCS Card for Construction NVQ Level 3; Blue CSCS Card for Level 2) can be a real obstacle in the way of getting work.