For the past five years the message has been the same – but have you been paying attention? 

It is easy to think that deadlines are years in the future but suddenly they are upon us within months. That is where we are with the withdrawal of the CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) cards issued under Industry Accreditation (IA). IA cards issued from 1st January 2020 will not be renewed after 31st December 2024. It is now time to take action to ensure your card continues.

It has been an issue we at the Natural Stone Industry Training Group (NSITG), have been working with members on for five years and still it will come as a surprise to many when they are told their cards can not be reissued as in previous years.

We know it causes anger in some, confusion in others and indifference in many but as a sector we need to work to ensure anyone who requires a CSCS card to carry out their work has a relevant and current scheme card. December is not too long away.

Industry Accreditation is also known as Managed Industry Accreditation (MIA) and Grandfather Rights. 

CSCS have information to guide and support on its website. It gives a comprehensive guide to the way to gain qualifications via OSAT (On Site Assessment and Training) and other ways of ensuring the card is re-issued. However, before you look at the routes there are things to consider.

Since the issue of your IA CSCS card have you gained qualifications in your trade? CSCS tell us that many IA card holders — Gold Advanced Craft, Blue Skilled Worker card and Gold Supervisor cards — have the current qualifications for the card to be issued under the revised December 2024 onward criteria. So, check the qualifications that you have gained since your IA card was issued. 

Also, IA card holders often have apprenticeships or membership of professional bodies that qualify holders for the revised criteria. One problem is that many apprenticeships were carried out years ago and paperwork has been lost over many years. This is where an appeal can be made to CSCS. They will work on an individual case by case basis to help ensure apprenticeships are recognised. You may have old indenture papers in a brown envelope hiding in “that” box that also holds your swimming certificate or cycling proficiency test. Go though your documents. Is your original employer still in existence and able to give a written statement that you undertook an apprenticeship with them? All these things can be dealt with via an appeal if you can not find your original apprenticeship or qualification documents. 

Contact CSCS via email initially at customerservice@cscs.co.uk and write ‘CSCS appeal’ in the subject line. 

NSITG can also help members with appeals and have already been able to support the issue of new criteria cards for members with IA cards. It is worth noting that there are many websites claiming to help with this process for a fee. The appeals process via CSCS is free as is any help offered by NSITG.