ASSESSING THE DEMAND FOR EXPERIENCED WORKER SKILLcards AND ASSESSMENT Survey

The purpose of this survey is to establish:

(a) whether Engineering Services SKILLcard (the CSCS-affiliated personnel registration and card issuing scheme for the mechanical services sector of the building services industry) should continue its practice of issuing ‘Experienced Worker’ cards; and

(b) if so, on what basis and the numbers likely to be required.

Your response to the questions in this survey will be treated in strict confidence.

Background – Explanatory Note

Engineering Services SKILLcard issues Blue ‘Experienced Worker’ cards to those people working in the industry who operate in a skilled capacity but who do not have formal trade or industry qualifications. To get an ‘Experienced Worker’ card, workers need to register on an appropriate NVQ for their trade. They then have the three-year lifetime of the card within which to complete the necessary programme of assessments to qualify for the award of the qualification.

SKILLcard’s ability to issue cards on this basis was interrupted when the industry’s NVQs were revised to adopt the QCF format. This made it difficult to use the NVQ as the basis of assessing experienced workers because the theoretical knowledge and the practical application aspects of the qualification could not be separated from each other in the way that had been possible previously – and which lent itself to assessing experienced workers’ practical competence.

It is thought that this might have led to the issue of Green (Unskilled) cards to workers undertaking skilled tasks on site – purely so that such people can get access to site. The indications now are that clients will be clamping down on what they regard as an abuse of Green cards with effect from the beginning of the new year. Several Association members expressed concerns along these lines at a number of the recent Regional and Regional Branch meetings.

Engineering Services SKILLcard is therefore exploring with the Awarding Organisations such as City and Guilds the possibility of reviving the former (pre-QCF) NVQs to facilitate the issue of ‘Experienced Worker’ cards on the basis that used to be available, as explained above. Preliminary indications are that they could do so, provided there is sufficient demand within the industry.

Please proceed to the short questionnaire below to let us have your views by Friday 9 January 2015.

ASSESSING THE DEMAND FOR EXPERIENCED WORKER SKILLcards AND ASSESSMENT

Purpose of Survey

Question Title

* 1. Have the clients for which you work indicated to you that they soon intend to clamp down on the practice of allowing onto their sites work people you employ to undertake skilled work when they hold only a Green (Unskilled) card?

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* 2. Does your business currently have in its employment work people who operate in a skilled capacity, and who currently hold a Green (Unskilled) card?

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* 3. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category?

State Number:

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* 4. Does your business currently have in its employment work people who operate in a skilled capacity, but who do not have a formal trade or industry qualification, and who do not yet have a SKILLcard of any description, but who would benefit from an ’Experienced Worker’ card?

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* 5. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category?

State number:

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* 6. Would it be helpful to you if Engineering Services SKILLcard were able to issue ‘Experienced Worker’ cards to work people who operate in a skilled capacity, but who do not have formal trade or industry qualifications?

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* 7. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people would be likely to require an 'Experienced Worker' SKILLcard on this basis?

State Number:

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* 9. If you want to equip your skilled (but unqualified) work people with an ‘Experienced Worker’ card which will require them to register for an NVQ and undergo workplace assessment, how do you propose this would be paid for?

Write your answer below:

Question Title

* 10. Your details

Question Title

* 1. Have the clients for which you work indicated to you that they soon intend to clamp down on the practice of allowing onto their sites work people you employ to undertake skilled work when they hold only a Green (Unskilled) card?

Question Title

* 2. Does your business currently have in its employment work people who operate in a skilled capacity, and who currently hold a Green (Unskilled) card?

Question Title

* 3. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category? State Number:

Question Title

* 4. Does your business currently have in its employment work people who operate in a skilled capacity, but who do not have a formal trade or industry qualification, and who do not yet have a SKILLcard of any description, but who would benefit from an ’Experienced Worker’ card?

Question Title

* 5. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category? State number:

Question Title

* 6. Would it be helpful to you if Engineering Services SKILLcard were able to issue ‘Experienced Worker’ cards to work people who operate in a skilled capacity, but who do not have formal trade or industry qualifications?

Question Title

* 7. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people would be likely to require an 'Experienced Worker' SKILLcard on this basis? State Number:

Question Title

Question Title

* 9. If you want to equip your skilled (but unqualified) work people with an ‘Experienced Worker’ card which will require them to register for an NVQ and undergo workplace assessment, how do you propose this would be paid for? Write your answer below:

Question Title

* 10. Your details

* 3. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category?

State Number:

* 5. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people fall into this category?

State number:

* 7. If you ticked Yes to the previous Question, approximately how many of your work people would be likely to require an 'Experienced Worker' SKILLcard on this basis?

State Number:

* 9. If you want to equip your skilled (but unqualified) work people with an ‘Experienced Worker’ card which will require them to register for an NVQ and undergo workplace assessment, how do you propose this would be paid for?

Write your answer below: