Fraud allegations linked to CSCS cards
Four men arrested in Winchester last week are suspected of accepting payment to help unqualified people gain Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards without completing a genuine training course.
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) said the suspected fraudulent test centre should act as a reminder for those responsible for health and safety on construction sites.
Police reported that gaming the system in this way would allow unqualified and inadequately trained people to gain access to construction sites and could put themselves and others at risk of serious harm.
Digital checks and the Engineering Services SKILLcard
Jill Nicholls, Director Of Competence And Compliance at BESA, said: “This incident should remind everyone that we cannot be complacent about health and safety despite all the measures the industry has put in place in recent years.
“We now have an advanced digital system for verifying that card holders are genuine and have completed the appropriate training for their specific work areas, and we would encourage everyone to use the system proactively, especially if they have any suspicions about someone’s qualifications.”
BESA operates the CSCS partner card scheme Engineering Services SKILLcard, which allows card holders and inspectors to access technical and health and safety qualifications in real time via a mobile phone app.
The association said the system also allows cancellation of counterfeit or revoked cards.
It said the SKILLcard has been operating for over 24 years and provides more than 55,000 building services engineers with evidence of the qualifications they need to access sites.
It also said the digital Engineering Services SKILLcard gives users a single continually updated point of access to all their cards and the qualifications they hold.
The system can enable site access via a QR code that can be scanned directly from the card holder’s phone using the CSCS Smart Check App.
BESA said digitisation formed part of the sector’s response to the Building Safety Act, which came into force in 2022, and was intended to increase scrutiny of individual competence and compliance.
It said it provides cards for trade operatives, and also for people with supervisory and managerial responsibilities.
The scheme is also used by self-employed and agency workers, and those seeking employment in the sector.
The association also said it provides a suite of online health and safety training courses and tests.