Alan Whitehead

Labour Party | Southampton Test

Whitehead to open new construction skills centre

Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test, will open the new Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) test centre in Shirley High Street on Friday 20th July.  The new test centre will provide temporary workers with a convenient location to sit CSCS tests which, once passed, provide access to a much wider range of jobs in the construction industry.  

The new local centre is being run by the recruitment firm Labour Ready, who boast a strong record in getting its temporary workers into full-time employment through a ‘Temp to Perm’ scheme.

The CSCS was introduced in 1995 as a way of demonstrating that a construction worker had achieved a set skill level and was not a ‘cowboy builder.’  There are 7 different levels of accreditation:

• Red- trainee
• Green- Construction site operative
• Blue- Experienced worker / craft
• Gold- advanced craft / supervisory
• Platinum- management
• Black- senior management
• Yellow- professional qualified person

The provision of a local test centre will therefore be an important resource for construction workers who want to develop their skills.

Alan Whitehead MP said:
“It is very important we give temporary workers the support they need to develop their skills.  I would encourage anyone who is keen to get accredited to contact the centre and find out about what help is available.”