As an employer in construction you’ll be aware that your most valuable commodity is reputation. Construction companies and their affiliated contractors get work according to the perceived quality of their building work. It is of course the worker, the employees, who deliver that work. Without the right construction employees your company can’t provide the work it needs to.
Thanks to the CSCS initiative, the industry as a whole now has a benchmark for measuring the competence and experience of all its workers. All of the trades in the construction industry can now be measured against that benchmark – which means that site supervisors and company managers now have a much better idea of the quality and qualifications of their applicants.
Measuring Quality and Safety in Construction Employees
As well as being a reliable measure of genuine experience (the cards are dovetailed with NVQ and SVQ Levels), CSCS Cards tell you, as an employer, that your prospective new worker has passed the relevant Health, Safety & Environment Test. The CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Test, of which there are several variants according to the nature of work and risk in each construction trade, must be passed in order for a construction employee to be granted a card.
The CSCS Card, or its equivalent, is the first thing you should look for when hiring new construction employees. There are four CSCS affiliated card providers, whose own cards are seen as “the” CSCS Cards for specific trades – electrotechnical; HVAC; hazardous materials removal; and plumbing. One of these cards, or a CSCS Smart Card, is your evidence that your prospective employee is competent and safety trained.
Looking for New Employees in the Construction Industry
So you know what to look for in a new construction employee – but where should you actually look for the employees? Obviously the world has changed since the days where simply advertising through the local employment agency was the norm. Modern jobseekers employ a variety of tactics to find work, which means that modern construction companies need to use a wider range of outlets to attract them.
The Internet is commonly used by people looking for work in the construction industry, as indeed it is by people looking for work in every kind of industry. Make use of your own website and its connections with social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to create a presence in the job hunting community. Affiliate yourself with job specific social media sites like WYGU and you can not only find new employees in the construction industry, but mentor potential employees into the right qualifications and courses.
Qualifications and New Employees in Construction
There are plenty of potential new employees in construction who are currently studying NVQ and SVQ modules related to your trade. Follow a key advertising rule and involve yourself directly with your market by forging links with your local colleges. The young people studying NVQ and SVQ Level 1 in specified building and construction trades are looking for companies to become apprenticed to. All you need to do is spare your new employees the time to complete their studies and put them up for their first CSCS Card.