aerial view of a building site

CSCS cards for RICS members

31st March 2021   |   Jamie Barrett   |   Reading Time: 2 minutes

Earlier this month (March 2021) RICS announced that members can use their memberships to apply for Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards.

CITB note that “CSCS cards provide proof that individuals working on construction sites have the required training and qualifications for the type of work they carry out”. 

Although holding a CSCS card is not a legislative requirement, many of the UK Principal Contractors require professionals, subcontractors, workers and visitors on their sites to hold a valid CSCS card.

A welcome change

Principal Contractors are increasingly employing designers and consultants to work on their design and build projects. This means that it is essential for surveyors, architects, project managers, and consultants to ensure their employees hold an appropriate CSCS card. 

There are over 60 professional bodies recognised by CSCS and over 32,000 professional members holding a CSCS card. Full RICS members are most likely to hold a CSCS Professionally Qualified Person (PQP) card. 

According to RICS “CSCS and RICS undertook a detailed mapping exercise of RICS membership criteria”. The result of this exercise means CSCS cards can be offered to RICS members at different levels, as shown in the table below:

RICS Membership Level CSCS Card 
Student Trainee card (red)
Student members registered on to an ApprenticeshipApprentice card (red)
Associate (qualified through the recognised Level 3 Apprenticeship)Advanced Craft card (gold)
Associate (qualified through the recognised Level 6 Apprenticeship)PQP card (white)
Associate (all others)PQP card (white)
CharteredPQP card (white)
Above table as illustrated on RICS website

The Professionally Qualified Person card is valid for five years and cannot be renewed. Once expired, applicants must apply for a new card. All applicants must pass the CITB Managers and Professionals Health, Safety and Environment Test. 

As a company, Evolutions5 ensure all our staff hold relevant CSCS cards but, in the past, achieving this has not always been a seamless process.

This is fantastic news for our company and as an RICS member.

In the past, there have been situations when employees with CIOB membership have managed to apply for CSCS cards quickly and easily but employees with RICS membership, who did not necessarily hold the NVQ/SVQs required for other (potentially more) applicable cards, had to use the now obsolete Visitor cards.

It makes sense for RICS and CITB to have made this change.

Jamie Barrett, Managing Director at Evolution5

Applying for a PQP CSCS Card

For Associates and Members looking to apply for a Professionally Qualified Person card they will need:

  • A membership certificate (which shows membership for the current year)
  • A membership card (both sides)
  • An up-to-date letter or email from the professional body

Full details of how to apply can be found here.

If you are planning a project and would like to find out more about how Evolution5 can form part of your expert team of consultants, click the button below to get in touch