CSCS withdraws CRO card

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has withdrawn the Construction Related Occupation (CRO) card. BWF members that do work on site are urged to report any problems getting site access as a result of this to BWF.

What does this mean?

– CSCS stopped issuing CRO cards from 31st March 2017

– CRO cards issued since 1st October 2015 will expire on 30th September 2017*

– CRO cardholders must take further steps to replace their CRO cards before they expire.

*For the avoidance of doubt, CRO cards issued before October 2015 will remain valid until their expiry date. All related occupation cards issued by the following Partner Card Schemes, SKILLcard (Construction Related Occupation), ECS (Related Disciplines), JIB-UK PHMES  (Plumbing Related Occupation), will also remain valid until their expiry date. A full list of the Partner Card Schemes is available here.

What do those affected need to do?

The removal of the CRO card affects over 230,000 CRO card holders. In many cases CRO card holders will be required to register for existing or newly developed qualifications. In others, card holders will be asked to move to one of CSCS’s Partner Card Schemes that are more appropriate for their occupation. For some, where their occupation is not construction related or no suitable qualifications exist, a CSCS card will no longer be issued.

– CRO cardholders can find out what steps they need to take by inputting their occupation into card finder and following the steps on the screen.

– CRO card holders who do not take the necessary steps to replace their cards will find they will be unable to obtain another CSCS card.

The withdrawal of the CRO card is seen as a practical step towards achieving the Construction Leadership Council’s requirement of ensuring nationally recognised qualifications are in place for all construction related occupations.