The greater flexibility now offered in how UK construction workers complete health and safety training can help boost the industry’s post-recession recovery, a leading health and safety body has claimed.
This new flexibility is the result of talks involving the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation with 44,000 members in 120 countries, and Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS).
It has led to the IOSH’s one-day Working safely course being recognised by CSCS as an equivalent to a Level 1 Award in health and safety in a construction environment.
It means that delegates who successfully complete Working safely can apply for a CSCS green Labourer card once they have also passed the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Operatives Test.
This news is likely to be welcomed by course delegates who have already successfully completed their Working safely training because it’ll give them an opportunity to apply for their green card.
Paul Haxell, chair of the IOSH Construction Group, said: “Our industry is crying out for manpower and therefore options and alternatives that make it easier for people to become qualified at the first level have got to be in the interests of the industry.
“For IOSH training providers, this opens up the opportunity to support the rebirth and growth of the construction industry. More people getting their CSCS Green Card, and knowing good standards as a result, is vitally important to the safe growth that the industry needs.”
IOSH chief executive Jan Chmiel said: “We’re absolutely delighted with this new development as it’s something we’ve wanted to achieve on behalf of our training providers and members for some time.
“We believe that training is relevant to everyone. Last year alone, more than 150,000 people were trained to our standards. Forward thinking organisations know that investing in a culture of care brings advanced performance through reputation, resilience and results.”
Working safely is for people at any level, in any sector, needing a grounding in the essentials of health and safety.
Tracey Wright, commercial development manager at IOSH, said: “We’ve been working closely with CSCS over the past five months to achieve this recognition, bringing Working safely in line with their new national occupational standard. That’s because we know it’s important to so many of our training providers who recognise our course as being world-class training.”
CSCS chief executive Graham Wren said: “When we introduced the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment we were keen not to duplicate existing training that met the objectives of this new qualification. To do so would have resulted in construction employers incurring unnecessary costs.
“IOSH’s Working safely course met our strict mapping criteria and we are confident that anyone who has successfully completed it will have the necessary understanding of on-site health and safety issues which affect labourers.”
To find out more about Working Safely and the new CSCS recognition, visit <%$Linker:
