Changes on the cards for CSCS skills schemes

Fundamental changes to the relationship between the owners of the CSCS skills cards scheme and its CITB administrators are being drawn up. Essentially, the changes mean that the training board will become a subcontractor to CSCS Ltd, the company that owns the scheme.

The CSCS is also expected to appoint its own full-time executive.

The move is set to become part of a new strategic business plan being drawn up by the CSCS. It follows latest figures that show that the skills cards scheme achieved a surplus of about £1m last year. It remains uncertain, however, to what extent that surplus has to be written off against administration costs.

The business plan is expected to focus on the mechanism and resources needed to deliver skills cards – with a special emphasis on boosting the take-up among the traditional building and civil engineering trades.

Coverage in these sectors is claimed to remain "abysmally" low at about 8% of the potential. Overall figures for valid card ownership are bolstered by a very high take-up among the specialist trades.

The Construction Confeder-ation (CC) has reported that recent top-level meetings have agreed "a number of items that will be included in the strategic business plan being drawn up covering both the future structure and the take up of the scheme".

The CC said a timetable had also been agreed for presenting the plan and for discussions with CITB-ConstructionSkills over its administrative role.