News analysis with BESA
Going digital – mobile app to ease site access
As the latest step in a concerted campaign to improve the availability of training and skills information, Engineering Services SKILLcard has launched a digital version of its traditional plastic cards
I
t means users will now be able to access all their technical and health & safety qualifi cations quickly, easily…digitally. SKILLcard, which is managed by the Building Engineering Services
Association, has been operating for over 22 years and provides over 50,000 building services engineers with evidence of the qualifi cations they need to access sites.
The new digital system gives users a single continually updated point of
access to all their cards and the qualifi cations they hold in one easy to access place. It also enables site access via a QR code that can be scanned directly from the card holder’s phone using the Construction Skills Certifi cation Scheme (CSCS) ‘Smart Check App’. Providing a digital option will also allow SKILLcard to dramatically reduce the time between applying and being able to use the card, with access made available immediately after approval. It hopes this will encourage more applicants and ensure wider and more eff ective use of the cards. “We are moving with the times and providing a more seamless service that should make everyone’s lives easier,” said BESA’s head of operations Chris Major. “SKILLcards play a crucial role in ensuring operatives have the right qualifi cations for the job they are being employed to do on site.
Verify
“Having such an easy to access mechanism for checking qualifi cations and training allows site managers to instantly verify a worker’s credentials.” Engineering Services SKILLcard plays a crucial role in the government’s 2025 Construction Industry Strategy by helping clients check whether workers have the right qualifi cations for the job in hand as well as suitable health and safety training. It also covers those with supervisory and managerial responsibilities in the building engineering services industry and is also widely used by self-employed and agency workers and those seeking employment in the sector. Since its launch in 2001, the application and renewal process has been regularly updated and improved so that it is now fully digital. With the Building Safety Act intensifying the scrutiny of competence and
compliance across the sector as the government seeks to clamp down on sub- standard working practices, the ability to access evidence of technical and professional competence more easily has taken on a whole new urgency. The new digital SKILLcard is a direct response to this development and moves the industry closer to the ideal scenario where the skills of the entire workforce are instantly available, transparent, and constantly updated. Reducing the amount of plastic in use is another major benefi t of the
gradual switch from physical cards. BESA said it was also investigating ways of reclaiming and recycling the plastic SKILLcards once they are no longer required.
“Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down in landfi ll unless it is captured
and recycled,” said Major. “As the trade body for an industry that is at the forefront of eff orts to develop a more sustainable built environment, we see this as an important way of demonstrating that we practice what we preach.” BESA also recently collaborated with the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), the Institute of LEV Engineers (ILEVE) and the Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) to produce a series of new cards to help other specialist sectors meet more stringent skills requirements. The new cards are part of the wider pan-industry Construction Skills
Certifi cation Scheme (CSCS) alliance used to provide evidence of professional competence and health & safety qualifi cations across a whole range of built environment professions. The new fi re sprinkler cards include blue skilled worker cards for commercial engineers for which the applicant must hold the new ‘Inspection and Commissioning of Commercial Fire Sprinkler Systems’ qualifi cation; and Fire Sprinkler Design/Project Engineer (Domestic and Residential), which is a Black Manager card that can only be carried by someone who has completed the new ‘Domestic and Residential Fire Sprinkler Design SCQF’ qualifi cation.
Profi ciency
For LEV engineers, there are new blue skilled worker TExT Assessor and LEV Design Technician cards, for which the applicants must have P601 and P602 profi ciency qualifi cations, together with relevant experience and obtain the ILEVE Licentiate card. An advanced gold craft card for LEV TExT assessors and commissioning engineers is another new addition for which the applicant must hold the BOHS CoC Control certifi cate and have obtained an ILEVE Associate card.
Commissioning specialists also have access to a whole raft of new cards
8
July 2024
DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
