CSCS

Gordon Jenkins, CSCS Scheme Manager, takes a look at the ConstructionSkills Health & Safety Test – the industry standard for demonstrating on-site health and safety awareness, and a key requirement for gaining a CSCS card.

Over 1.5 million workers have now passed the ConstructionSkills Health & Safety Test, a positive sign that industry is making fast progress towards becoming fully qualified. But why is the test so important, and why have so many people now taken it?

 

It's simple: construction is a high-risk industry, and we need to ensure that all of its 2.5 million workers are working safely and can recognise the risks associated with a construction site. The test, which has been running since 2000, forms a central part of gaining a CSCS or affiliated card. It can be taken at locations across the UK at one of 50 permanent test centres or through 22 mobile units which are taken to a large number of convenient places. In addition, as long as certain criteria are met, the mobile units can be brought directly on-site to minimise disruption to the working day.

The operative's test is now available in over ten different languages. It is also fully up-to-date with industry regulations, including CDM 07; indeed it is specifically referred to in the CDM Approved Code of Practice as one way of demonstrating a basic understanding of the general risks arising from construction work. There is also a test for Professionally Qualified Persons, designed particularly for professionally qualified people not based on site.

Booking and taking the test is a straightforward procedure, and now forms part of the SkillsDirect service which makes getting qualified and appropriately carded simpler and faster by integrating all the key elements into one free service, accessed through a central hotline - 0870 850 5262. But there are still a few things you can do to help ensure you pass first time.

The H&S Test consists of multiple choice questions which you answer using a touch screen. You will be asked 40 questions from a bank of over 400 – all up-to-date with current legislation and industry policy.

You can increase your H&S knowledge and perform better in the test by using the support materials available. You can revise effectively with either the Question book, CD-ROM, the Professionally Qualified Person (PQP) Question Book or the networkable DVD. Any one of these materials will help ensure you are up to speed with industry best practice and considerably increase your chances of passing the test. They also make good reference guides to H&S best practice more generally. Revision materials are available in all good bookshops or can be purchased online at www.cskills.org/healthsafety

If you or your workers are nervous about using a touch screen computer, or have problems with reading, talk to the advisor when you book the test so that they can discuss the extra support that can be provided.

SkillsDirect will be able to arrange the H&S Test for you, then you can take it any of the fixed and mobile test locations throughout the country. Many centres are open early in the morning, into the evenings and even on Saturdays to ensure minimum disruption to work. You will receive a letter a few days before the test confirming when and where you need to go and what paperwork you need to take with you. You will also be sent an employer declaration form which will need to be signed by your manager and taken to the test centre.

If you use the SkillsDirect service your photo will be taken for use on your CSCS or affiliated card when you get to the test centre. This is another really useful part of the as it can be quite inconvenient, not to mention expensive, to find a photo booth. But that’s all taken care of while you’re at the test centre. Once you’ve successfully completed your Health and Safety Test and met the qualification requirements, you’ll be issued with your card within 7 working days. If you do not use the Skills Direct service you will need to organise your CSCS or affiliated card separately – it will not come automatically.