CSCS to stop issuing CRO cards from 31st March 2017
Published: January 5, 2017
The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is reminding industry to be prepared for the withdrawal of the Construction Related Occupation (CRO) card.
CSCS will stop issuing CRO cards from 31st March 2017 and all CRO cards issued since October 2015 will expire on 30th September 2017*.
CSCS Head of Communications Alan O’Neile said: “The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) announced (via the Industrial Strategy: Construction 2025) that skills certification card schemes carrying the CSCS logo must only certify those occupations with nationally recognised construction related qualifications, i.e. NVQs or approved equivalents.
“The CRO card is issued without the requirement to demonstrate the applicant has achieved an appropriate qualification and as such does not meet the requirements of the CLC.”
The removal of the CRO card will impact over 230,000 CRO card holders and the alternatives available will depend on the qualifications held by the applicant and whether their occupation is categorised as construction related.
In many cases CRO card holders will be required to register for existing or newly developed qualifications before their CRO cards expire. In others CRO card holders will be moved to one of CSCS’s Partner Card Schemes that are more appropriate for their occupations. For some, where their occupation is not construction related or no suitable qualification exists, a CSCS card will no longer be issued and it will be the responsibility of site supervisors and managers to ensure these workers are properly supervised and managed.
CSCS Chief Executive Graham Wren added: “Together with our key industry stakeholders we have been preparing for the eventual withdrawal of the CRO card since 2015. This development is fully in line with the industry’s desire to ensure a fully qualified workforce and a lot of work has taken place to ensure CRO card holders know which qualifications are available and to make their transition to appropriate alternative arrangements as smooth as possible.
“The withdrawal of the CRO card is a practical step towards achieving the CLC’s requirement of ensuring nationally recognised qualifications are in place for all occupations. By certifying construction workers have the correct training and qualifications CSCS can play its part in improving standards and safety on UK construction sites.”
If you are a CRO cardholder visit www.cscs.uk.com/cro to find out what steps you need to take.
*For the avoidance of doubt, CRO cards issued before October 2015 will remain valid until their expiry date. All related occupation cards issued by the following Partner Card Schemes, SKILLcard (Construction Related Occupation), ECS (Related Disciplines), JIB-UK PHMES (Plumbing Related Occupation), will also remain valid until their expiry date. A full list of the Partner Card Schemes is available here.