CSCS Labourer Card reduced to two years

Construction Skills Certification Scheme Cards (CSCS Cards) Limited has announced it will be reducing the validity of its initial Labourer Card from five years to two.

Following the initial card, workers who continue in labouring roles will then be able to renew their card for five years by providing evidence they are employed in a labouring role.

The ‘major changes’ are set to take effect from 1 February 2025.

They aim to support the direction of travel of the Building Safety Act, which challenges how all in the construction industry must operate.

Anyone undertaking a construction role now under a legal duty to ensure they are competent for their role, requiring: appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours.

An accompanying CITB Health, safety, and environment test used for the initial two-year card application will see its validity extended to three years.

This will allow it to be used for renewal and to avoid placing undue financial burdens on those who continue in labouring roles.

The adjustments are also designed to address the current oversupply of Labourer cards and to ensure only those carrying out genuine labouring duties carry the card.

According to the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) Construction Skills Network Forecast, around 140,000 labourers will be needed annually by 2028. 

However, CSCS argue that with around 500,000 Labourer cards currently in circulation, “it is evident that the card is oversupplied.”

In July, the industry expressed concern over the 2019 reform that saw workers able to obtain CSCS cards on the strength of an employer’s recommendation, or so-called ‘grandfather rights’, with the fear of counterfeit cards becoming commonplace.

This decision follows extensive consultation with employers, standard-setting bodies, over 40 sector representative organisations and unions.

Garry Mortimer, Executive Director of Operations at CSCS Cards Limited said: “The competence of the construction workforce is at the heart of the Building Safety Act. 

“These changes better align with the competency expectations of the Act as they will encourage more new entrants to start their career not on the Labourer card, but on one of CSCS’s red cards, which demonstrate to employers that the card holder is on a recognised training pathway that supports long-term career progression.

“Our data shows that 85 per cent of Labourers do not renew their card, and feedback from employers highlights many workers leave the industry long before their Labourer cards expire.

“By reducing the Labourer card’s initial validity to two years, we can better track the actual number of active Labourers in the sector.

“The requirement for proof of working in a labouring role upon renewal will ensure the card is no longer used as the default easy option for site access.”

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