I’m helping my nephew get his labourers green CSCS card and its driving me mad! I’ve been on the CITB and CSCS sites and they are a quagmire. I’ve finally sorted out the the Health and Safety in the Environment test but cant find a good online site for him to take the other test, of which as far as I can see there are any number that he can take which would allow him to apply for a green labourers CSCS card – any recommendations for an online site to take this first part? TIA

I was under the impression the the CSCS tests had to be taken at an official test centre?

Yes you are right, the Health, Safety and Environment test does have to be taken in an official centre. However it appears that the other qualification (of which there are a range) can be taken away from these ‘official’ test centres and I believe ‘on-line’, but trying to find one on-line is proving difficult

You can get an app that has sample tests, just search the app store for it.

Thanks

Any more suggestions? TIA

As far as I’m aware you only need to pass the cscs health and safety test to be able to apply for the cscs card, you then send off your pass certificate with payment for the card back to city.
The cscs test is carried out normally at the same places that do the driving theory tests.

https://www.cscs.uk.com/frequently-asked-questions/how-do-i-find-my-nearest-test-centre/

Does this help? I work for a company that delivers training in the construction sector

It has changed in the last year or so, where you now have to have a H+S pass, usually a one-day course at £100+, and, do the CSCS test at the driving test centres.
Both are remarkably simple to pass.

what they said you need to do the course in order to take the test these days

About £100 for it may be schemes local to you but likely to involve swapping time for a free test – ie they may do math sand english and claim that then do th test as the “freebie”

jj55, did you get any further with your cscs enquiry?
I just noticed mine runs out at the end of November, and rather than just pass the Health and Safety test, it appears I now need some sort of qualification to enable me to renew. This appears to be a new policy designed to rip you off
(Sorry, I mean allow employers to check you are capable of doing your job)
I just need mine for the odd site visit to make sure everything’s going ok, maybe a little surveying, and to pick up a drill etc rather than pay an agency £30 an hour for a completely useless person to do it .
I just need to get the bare minimum to renew, but like yourself, I can’t work out what that is.
I have passed the BTEC National Certificate in civil engineering back in ’88 but I’ll be buggered if I know where the cert is (an whether it is even relevant these days)

Best way do it is to buy either the official book or a CD ROM it has all the questions which are in the test. The CD ROM also has the mock test, make sure you get the latest version as it’s been revised due to CDM regulation changes.
You can view a film free on youtube which is part of the training.google cscs setting out.

The most difficult bit is remembering the fire extinguisher types, and sign types etc.

Yes, but that is just the Health and Safety test.
You now need a “qualification” or be studying for one to go with that, or so it seems

You dont need a qualification, just go for the Labourers card. It is a building trades card, so you either need a relevant qualification, or be an unskilled Labourer.
Many people have the Labourers card as 30 years of site experience isnt good enough to class them as a Brickie etc.
You’ll probably still need the H+S test/one day course as well as the CSCS test.

Can you not still get a site visitor’s version? Rather than have to sign up to being in a particular trade, supervisor, etc?

revs1972 ~ You do need that second qualification! My nephew did it and it cost over £100 for a day’s course with a certificate guaranteed at the end of it. You then need to take the second CSCS test (£19:50), for which the revision books/DVD’s are a little cheaper on Amazon than on the official CSCS site. Once you have the two certificates you can then apply on-line for your card

There is a lot of useful info on the CSCS official website Particularly which card you need for which occupation, which second qualification you will need, and where to find the training companies offering it. The website itself is a little difficult to navigate but with some patience you can find out all the info you need there. Beware of the commercial companies offering to take you through the CSCS card application process, there are the inevitable mark up’s that these commercial enterprises charge for a process which you can do yourself on line.

Good Luck!

Cheers jj55.
its a pain. In the past you just had to pass the multiple choice test, pay your fee and get a labourers card.
Now it’s another £100 to learn what you already know.
I think you can still get a visitors card , but sometimes I have to do a bit of work.
Not that I have ever, ever been asked to show my card on any of the sites I have been on.

But now I’m the boss and have to pay insurance etc I don’t want to fall foul of anything , so will just have to pay up I guess

The CSCS jobs for the boys was imposed on the industry in the 1990’s as part of an insurance driven package of measures. Still it created cozy admin jobs for middlemen/providers who produce nothing but hot air and paper, leeching off those doing the work. Seems to be a growth industry piggybacking existing job’s/processes, producing nothing meaningful and charging fees for the unnecessary additional process.

I can understand it for newbies as part of an induction but that’s it. Why do that when you can make it an insurance stipulation and get the plebs to pay for it in their own time. Yet another example of regulation that appeases corporate employers and insurance companies.