In the last few years it has been well documented that CSCS are cracking down on the construction industry and making sure workers have the right qualifications that allow them to work on-site. As you all well know, an NVQ in your chosen trade is required to get a CSCS Skilled Workers card and this is the case across the UK. With no one gaining access on a building site without a valid CSCS Card.
However, those we qualifications from Overseas have not been so well documented as they look to gain a CSCS Card in the UK. Their qualifications are due to be verified the same way as qualifications gained in the UK. Here is a piece from CSCS on the issue of overseas qualifications:
“Historically applicants with overseas qualifications were required to apply to the UK’s international qualifications agency UK NARIC for an evaluation of their qualifications before applying for a CSCS card.
UK NARIC then issued a Statement of Comparability for Construction Skills which the applicant used to obtain a CSCS card.
However, the evaluation of overseas vocational qualifications was carried out in the broadest sense and did not include detailed mapping against the relevant UK National Occupational Standard (NOS) for Vocational Qualifications. Determining the equivalency of overseas qualifications was inconsistent with the detailed mapping against a NOS that takes place for UK based applications.
The process also attracted attention from those operating in the black market with CSCS regularly receiving fraudulent documentation (qualification certificates) from overseas applicants.
Clearly these two issues required an industry-wide solution.”
Towards the end of last year NARIC announced measures that related to the assessment of overseas qualifications. This read “Overseas construction workers wishing to work in the UK must now have the technical content of their overseas vocational qualification mapped against the relevant UK National Occupational Standard for that occupation. This provides an in-depth record of each individual’s skills and capabilities, mapped against units in the National Occupational Standard for their trade.”.
It is all in plan to give a better understanding as to how overseas qualifications match up unit-by-unit with the UK equivalent qualifications. It will make it easier to see in overseas workers have the skills required to work on-site in the UK and see if any additional training is required.
To read more on Overseas Qualifications, please head over to the CSCS Website.
(Credit: https://www.cscs.uk.com/news/overseas-qualifications-under-the-spotlight/)