History

The Early Days

CSCS was founded in 1995 as a joint initiative between the government, industry, and trade unions. The aim of the scheme was to improve the quality of construction work by ensuring that all workers had the necessary skills and qualifications. In its early years, after working with employers to help get across the benefits of their workers holding a CSCS card and developing a system for assessing the qualifications of construction workers, CSCS gained acceptance within the construction industry.

Growth and Expansion

The first decade of the 21st century saw a period of significant growth for CSCS and in the year 2007, the one millionth CSCS card was issued.

The scheme was expanded to cover a wider range of construction occupations, and the number of CSCS cards issued increased rapidly. In 2001, CSCS became the sole issuer of construction skills cards in the UK. This gave the scheme a greater degree of control over the verification of construction training and assessment. CSCS also began to develop a number of new initiatives during this period, such as the introduction of online applications for CSCS cards and the gradual transition towards a fully qualified workforce in line with the Construction Leadership Council’s Industrial Strategy 2025.

This specified that industry, including trade associations, contractors, clients and government should specify and promote card schemes carrying the CSCS logo with no equivalents accepted.

The CSCS Alliance and CSCS Smart Check

The formation of the CSCS Alliance and the rollout of CSCS Smart Check for digital verification of all CSCS-logoed cards came in 2022 while the finalisation of the withdrawal of Industry Accreditation followed at the end of 2024, in line with Construction Leadership Council guidelines.

With the scheme underpinned by a focus on ensuring a fully qualified workforce, closer alignment with the Building Safety Act now remains the key focus for both the CSCS scheme and licensor, with CSCS-logoed cards likely to play a key role in evidencing the Skills and Knowledge elements of competence.

CSCS Group was formed in 2024 and continues to act as licensor of the logo for CSCS and the other 37 CSCS Alliance schemes.

Thirty years of CSCS

The CSCS card scheme celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025 – marking three decades of raising standards and safety in UK construction.

Coinciding with the scheme’s 30-year anniversary, came the launch of the new-look My CSCS app — a key step in the industry’s transition from solely physical cards and checks to a fully digital infrastructure in tandem with CSCS Smart Check.

The app is a Digital Skills Passport, providing workers a secure, portable record of their qualifications, training, and experience, with the core elements of the passport able to verified digitally by CSCS Smart Check – industry’s border control technology.

While individuals can quickly and easily showcase their skills and training records, employers can surface verified elements of workforce competence in real time – a key responsibility under the Building Safety Act.

Both My CSCS and CSCS Smart Check will continue to evolve to meet the needs of industry, while the resulting data from across the CSCS Alliance will help inform industry direction in areas such as skills, training and workforce gaps.