The CCNSG Safety Passport is the nationally recognised safety card for the UK engineering construction industry and is often a pre-requisite for workers to enter sites.
Holding a Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) card assures workers remain current and up to date in their skills and knowledge to work safely within the industry and demonstrates a commitment to safety.
Around 30,000 people complete the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) two-day course each year, with safety cards valid for three years after completion.
If your card is approaching its expiry date, here are five tips to help you renew your CCNSG Safety Passport.
1. Don’t let it expire
Card holders need to renew their safety passport before the expiry date – which is printed on the front of the card. They can do this through the one-day Renewal Course or the test-only route.
If they do not renew before this date, they will need to do the full two-day national course again to get a new safety card.
The three-month grace period beyond this date brought in for the Covid pandemic no longer applies – so it is important to check the expiry date and get ready to renew before it expires.
Equally, if card holders get a few days or even a week out from this date, they may often struggle to find a course in time and the passport expires.
2. Get in early
Card holders can renew up to six months before the expiry date.
And it pays to get in early as this does not impact the date that holders have to renew next time. Their new CCNSG Safety Passport will be valid for three years from the date the old card expires.
For example, renewing six months before expiry would give the card holder 3.5 years until they have to renew again, so no time is lost.
3. Refresh your safety knowledge
The CCNSG Renewal Course is a one-day refresher for those who have already completed the two-day national course and need to renew before three years have passed.
Refreshing safety training on a regular basis helps workers maintain the level of knowledge required to operate safely and keep both themselves and their colleagues safe on site.
The renewal course gives an overview of the health and safety framework in the UK before going over safe working practices and procedures, safe use of tools and equipment in different working environments, safe solutions to problems and emergencies, personal site safety responsibilities, common workplace hazards and the controls associated with them.
4. Do the test-only route
The CCNSG Test-only for Renewal is an alternative option to the CCNSG Renewal Course with no classroom workshop elements.
Delegates complete 60 multiple-choice questions at an approved training provider’s centre which cover the syllabus of the one-day renewal course, with a required pass mark of 48 (80%).
Card holders who do not achieve the required pass mark get one further resit. If they fail to achieve the pass mark again, the one-day renewal course has to be taken.
5. Get in touch with a training provider
All ECITB Approved Training Providers that deliver the CCNSG course can offer the Renewal Course.
Card holders can contact either their last training provider or a new one in their area to arrange renewals.
A list of training providers delivering CCNSG renewals can be found at: www.ecitb.org.uk/qualifications-and-training/find-engineering-training/
Should card holders have any queries about CCNSG renewal or need any further help, they can email safetypassport@ecitb.org.uk