The Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) provides skills cards for the plant sector of the Construction and allied industries. It was launched in 2003 and since then over 300,000 cards have been issued across 60 categories of plant and related occupations. The CPCS Management Committee continually review and amend the Scheme, in light of on-going Industry feedback, and external factors such as the latest occupational health issues, technology advances and new plant types.
Not all cards are the same, (Red/Blue)
Are people on your site competent to do their job or just carded to get a job? It’s not about getting a card to work, to get on-site, it’s about having people on-site you can trust to do a good job, safely.
Be competent, be carded, be safe – With over 300,000 cards issued across more than 60 categories of plant and related occupations, CPCS is the construction industry’s largest plant card scheme.
One-to-one testing of theory and practical – Provides a stronger basis to test a candidates knowledge, experience and practical skills than in group testing.
More test questions – Depth of knowledge tested further, using an average of 70 theory questions per category.
Centre based testing – Over 90% of our practical tests are taken in purpose-built test centres, ensuring the full range of operations are covered, without disrupting a site.
Independent Testing – Ensuring testers are not involved in the candidates training, guarantees the independent measure of ability and knowledge.
Continued Professional Development – Ongoing development for Operators ensures their skills and knowledge is up to date.
Why choose CPCS?
- Accepted on all UK construction sites and in many cases, is the only card to be accepted
- CPCS is the Plant partner card scheme of CSCS
- Helps you meet your health and safety obligations
- Over 180 approved test centres
- Free online support materials, including theory test questions
- Over 200 test sites nationwide delivering theory and practical tests
- Helping to set industry standards for over 30 years
- Training and testing standards developed by industry-led working groups
- CPCS cards help prove people have the skills and knowledge to do their job competently onsite, we do this with:
- Support from a management committee of federations and organisations, ‘employers’
- Ensuring assessment standards are robust, comprehensive, relevant and up to date.
- A dedicated team of Quality Assurance personnel.
- Supporting lifelong learning and the maintenance of occupational competency
- Continually reviewing plant categories to ensure the Scheme meets employers’ needs.
