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Industry Accreditation

All cards previously issued under Industry Accreditation (IA) have now expired and the route is closed.

This is to meet Construction Leadership Council’s recommendations, which state that all construction industry card schemes must operate with nationally recognised qualifications in place for all occupations. Cards issued under IA were done so on the strength of an employer recommendation rather than a recognised qualification.

The tailored guidance below is designed to help cardholders replace their IA cards, depending on their occupation and qualifications, while a list of FAQs is also available.

Those requiring a qualification do not need to attend college and CITB grants are available until March 2026 to support CITB-registered employers achieve recognised qualifications.

Members of CSCS-approved professional bodies can apply for a Professionally Qualified Person card, while those with City and Guilds Craft or Advanced Craft certificates can apply for a full-term Blue or Gold Skilled Worker card, depending on which type they hold.

Holders of IA Manager cards

Click the link below for tailored advice and guidance on replacing your IA-issued Manager card.
Find out more

Holders of IA Supervisory cards

Click the link below for tailored advice and guidance on replacing your IA-issued Supervisory card.
Find out more

Holders of IA Gold Skilled Worker cards

Click the link below for tailored advice and guidance on replacing your IA-issued gold Skilled Worker card.
Find out more

Holders of IA blue Skilled Worker cards

Click the link below for tailored advice and guidance on replacing your IA-issued blue Skilled Worker card.
Find out more

Industry Accreditation FAQs

All Industry Accreditation (IA) cards issued from 1st Jan 2020 will expire on 31st Dec 2024

Yes, these are acceptable to apply for a CSCS card.

Those with cards issued under Industry Accreditation who hold City and Guilds Craft or Advanced Craft certificates can apply for a full-term Blue or Gold Skilled Worker CSCS card, depending on which type they hold.

CITB grant funding is available to CITB Registered employers who are up to date with their Levy Returns.

Employers can apply for this grant for all directly employed staff on the payroll, business owners and partners, and all subcontractors. Those self-employed or sub-contracted on projects should speak to the primary contractor in the first instance regarding grant funding.

A full list of CSCS-approved professional bodies is available via the Professionally Qualified Person card page.

A full list of accepted qualifications for the AQP card is available via the Academically Qualified Person card page.

For roofing occupations, there is the NVQ and SVQ route available and also the NFRC Experienced Roofer RoofCert Accreditation. Further information is available via the RoofCERT website.

No, N/SVQ’s generally are lifelong qualifications so once they are completed, they do not need to be completed again.

No, SVQ/NVQs are completed in the workplace, however, you will need some time to spend with your assessor, planning the assessment and feeding back their assessment of your evidence and/or work.

S/NVQs can be achieved in a minimum of 14 weeks, but usually takes between 6-12 months from registration though to receiving your certificate. The time taken will depend on the availability of evidence, for example an experienced manager with numerous years’ experience could complete it in a shorter period of time, whereas an inexperienced candidate will take more time – no two cases are the same. As this is an assessment rather than a training course, you will work with your assessor to collate evidence of your skills via a range of assessment methods.

No, this assessment is completed in the workplace and in many cases remotely. As you are likely to be a highly experienced worker, the process should be relatively simple and there are many ways to show evidence of your competence, including a Professional Discussion, Knowledge Evidence Questions, Reflective accounts, Witness Testimonies (confirming previous workplace activities undertaken), Product Evidence, e.g. minutes of meetings, RAMS, products of work and Observations

These courses are three and five-day CITB courses that are predominantly focused on health and safety and are not occupational or competence based. As a result, they are not accepted as part of CSCS card applications.

If you have an Industry Accreditation card, the rear of your physical CSCS card will state ‘Industry Accreditation’. This will also be stated on your virtual card should you use my CSCS.

To find a training provider and register for your qualification, please use CITB’s Construction Training Directory.

The Construction Training Directory is where you will be able to find the training you need that is delivered by CITB Approved Training Organisations (ATOs).