CSCS celebrates 30 years of raising standards and improving safety in UK construction 

Published: January 20, 2025

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) marks its 30th anniversary in 2025 – a significant milestone in the improvement of standards and safety across UK construction. 

Since being established in 1995, CSCS has been at the forefront of verifying qualification and training records and embedding a culture of consistent standards across the sector. 

In 2007, the millionth CSCS card was issued and by 2010 the first smartcard that could be read digitally was introduced to help improve security and ensure electronic verification of worker qualifications. 

At the beginning of 2015 the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) announced via its Industrial Strategy: Construction 2025 that industry, including trade associations, contractors, clients and government should specify and promote card schemes carrying the CSCS logo with no equivalents accepted.  

This move remains widely popular as it places the achievement of recognised qualifications at the heart of CSCS card applications. Since 2015, CSCS has played a significant role in driving up standards by ensuring hundreds of thousands of previously unqualified workers achieved a recognised qualification.   

Recent years have seen the formation of the CSCS Alliance – the 38 schemes that carry the CSCS logo – as well as the launch and rollout of card checking software CSCS Smart Check, which enables every CSCS logoed card to be checked via a single platform.  

Over the past three decades, CSCS has issued over six million cards, providing workers and employers with a trusted, industry-recognised method to validate training and qualifications on construction sites.  

Key highlights  

• Transitioning the industry towards a fully qualified workforce by driving compliance with the CLC’s ‘One Industry Logo’ vision. 

• Establishment of the CSCS Alliance, expanding partnerships with 38 recognised cards schemes under the One Industry Logo initiative, ensuring a consistency of standards across construction. 

• Launching card verification platform CSCS Smart Check, which has transformed how site managers check training and qualification records from visual inspections to digital verification. 

CSCS Group Chief Executive, Sean Kearns, said: “I’m immensely proud of the scheme’s achievements in the 30 years that it has worked alongside industry in pursuit of improved standards and a fully qualified workforce. While celebrating this milestone, we remain focused on addressing the challenges and opportunities ahead.  

“As construction evolves, CSCS will continue to adapt and innovate, supporting the industry with the solutions needed to meet emerging demands. A key focus is to ensure the card scheme is ready to verify any new standards that emerge from the Building Safety Act.” 

To commemorate this 30th anniversary, CSCS will host a year-long programme of engagement with stakeholders through a series of special events, campaigns, and initiatives. These activities will not only reflect on the progress made but also reinforce the scheme’s current role in industry and outline what the coming years look set to bring, particularly in light of the Building Safety Act. 

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