What Is The CSCS Test and CSCS Card Certification
cscs card
The CSCS test refers to the test applied by the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. The test changed its structure on April 2nd 2012 and is now called The citb Health, Safety and Environment Test.
The test is administered by Pearson VUE in The UK on behalf of the citb (Construction Industries Training Board).
You need to take, and pass the Health, Safety and environment test in order to get your CSCS card. You must have this card to enter any properly run construction site and will not be able to work without one.
Construction Skill Certification Safety
The Construction Skills Scheme was put in place in order to improve construction safety and reduce the high amount of accidents and injuries which occur on building and construction sites. It seems to have been successful in doing this if you look at the number of injuries and fatalities which have been falling since its inception 10 years ago.
Passing the citb test and getting the card shows that you are aware of health and safety requirements on site and have a certain level of competence, there is no doubt that possessing a current card will increase your chance of employment as more and more sites are adopting the scheme.
The card can also act as an I.D. card which employers can check. These cards can be checked online for validity and this should help to weed out forgeries and lost or stolen cards. This in itself can help to prevent unqualified people from gaining admittance or working on a site and endangering the safety of others.
Types of CSCS card
There are several types you can apply for and these are identified by different colours:
Red for Trainee, Graduate, Experienced Technical,Supervisor or Manager, Experienced Worker
Green for Construction Site Operative.
Blue for Craft(Skilled worker) .
Gold for Advanced Craft or Supervisory .
Black for Management.
Yellow for Professionally Qualified Person or a Visitor with no Construction Skills.
White for a Construction Related Occupation.
Where to take the CSCS test
There are locations all over the country where you can take the test as well as mobile test centres which serve the more remote locations. When you book your test you will be given a choice of venues, times and even languages. As mentioned above the test is now administered by Pearson VUE and a list of their contact details can be found here.
Taking the Test
The basic operatives test is considered fairly simple by most people . If you have worked on construction sites before you should know most if not all of the answers but revision is certainly suggested before taking the test as some could throw you e.g. which fire extinguisher to use on a particular type of fire. Checkout the other posts on this site which have more information to help you with this. Update – since the reorganisation of the test several new areas have been added including a behavioural case study test. See Core Sections.
Tests are multiple choice and are taken on a touch screen computer. You can also get voice overs in a different language if english is not your first language.
When you take the test they will need 2 passport photos to put on the card and proof of ID eg passport or other photo I.D. to prove who you are. Your picture is taken at the test centre probably to ensure that no one else is taking the test for you.
You will be able to practice with the computer before starting the test. As mentioned the tests are multiple choice and a random selection of questions is presented from a set pool of about 400 questions. You will only be presented with questions that are needed to match the card you are applying for.
You are allowed 45 minutes to compete the test and will have to answer 50 questions. These are made up of knowledge questions (38) and behavioural case study questions (12).
The 38 knowledge questions are asked from the set of core questions for the operatives cards. However, if you are taking one of the specialist tests you will be asked 32 questions from the core plus 6 questions from the specialist area you have chosen e.g. plumbing or gas, tunnelling, highway works. There are 12 specialist tests to choose from.
The questions in the behavioural case study section are to check how you would behave in particular situations on site and are developed around the video setting out.
Core test questions will cover such things as protective clothing and responsibilities for health and safety, first aid etc. and “what would you do in this situation?” scenarios.
CSCS Test Revision
There is no doubt that revising and and answering some cscs practice test questions will help you to pass. I have put various training materials and mock test questions to practice at various places around the site and will be adding more as soon as possible. If you are on the free mailing list you will get the latest information and offers as it becomes available. This is usually before the site gets updated. In some cases many special offers are for a limited time and have gone before I can add them to the site
You can buy Revision books (Amazon is one of the cheapest places- usually with free delivery) or you could attend a training course if your wallet stretches to it and time allows. There is revision information and mock test questions spread throughout this site.
Warning – If you do buy a revision book make sure it is for the new 2012 exam, i.e. the citb Health Safety and Environment test which is now in place. The previous books do not cover everything.
Booking a Test
You can pay book a CSCS test directly online yourself (it is quite straightforward) or you can pay an extra fee to get it booked for you. As with anything the choice is time against cost. After you have taken and passed your test you can apply for your card, there is an additional cost for the card and again it is simple enough to download a form and apply yourself. There are companies that will book your test and also arrange to get the card for you after you have taken it, but at a premium.
CSCS Card Renewal
The CSCS Card is not a lifetime card and will need to be renewed regularly (1,3 or 5 years depending on the type of card) which will again incur costs.You will have to take the CSCS Test again to renew your card. You may feel it is better to find out how to book a test, order a card after passing and make the renewal yourself, to avoid the additional handing costs of having someone else do this for you every time.
The Future of the CSCS Card and Construction Skill Certification Scheme
Although the Construction Skills Certification scheme changed in April 2012, the CSCS card (or some future derivative) is here to stay and a good thing too! The only downside for a construction worker is the cost in money and time ( If you are an employee then your employer might be able to cover the cost and claim this back) but this is surely outweighed by the increase in health and safety awareness it promotes. The decrease in serious construction site injuries, since the scheme was started, speaks for itself.
Please look round the rest of the site. I have tried to include (and will try to add to) some revision and mock test question which I hope will give you a better idea of what the CSCS test is about and help you to get your own CSCS Card.
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