The recent (21st October 2015) BBC Newsnight investigation into the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card brings the health and safety of UK construction workers into focus.
Commenting on the investigation, Alan Murray, BSIF CEO said:
“We have a very good record on safety and health in the UK. The UK safety and health processes are respected and replicated by many countries around the globe. Our standards should never be allowed to drop and CITB’s efforts to tackle the fraudsters are commendable as the reputation of the CSCS card must not be weakened. We wholeheartedly support the CITB’s efforts.”
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) flagship scheme for certifying construction workers was under the spotlight after some test centres were caught assisting candidates to pass tests including the Health Safety and the Environment exam. The joint BBC London/Newsnight investigation into the scheme revealed cheating, allowing untrained workers onto potentially dangerous sites.
The CITB confirmed it is aware of the problem card fraud poses, which is why it has taken a series of measures to tackle this head on. The board has doubled its spend on fraud investigations, which led to five centres being shut down – with eight other centres under investigation. CSCS takes fraudulent activity extremely seriously and the BSIF fully support their efforts.