Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS)
In order to gain the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) qualification in Plant Operations, the following procedures must be carried out:
Training
From novice candidates who need full training to those who need a refresher on their chosen plant category, training is recommended to all candidates wishing to gain the CPCS qualification. The objective of the training is to ensure that candidates are ready for the technical test, and ultimately ready to work on-site in a competent and safe manner, ensuring compliance to all relative health and safety issues and approved codes of practice. The technical test covers a wide range of scenarios that you will inevitably come face-to-face with on sites all over the country, and candidates are expected to perform well under pressure.
Training can be carried out at a clients’ choice of location on their own plant and machinery or at our training centre in East Budleigh. The number of training days candidates are recommended to attend depends on the amount of experience they have not only on the machine, but in the construction industry also. Candidates will be required to complete a profiling form to determine the level of experience they possess; the number of training days will then be calculated accordingly. Please refer to construction plant in the courses section to find out the minimum number of accumulated training hours for a complete novice, to give you an idea of how many training days you may require.
Health and Safety Test
Prior to attempting the technical test, candidates are required to pass a CSCS Health and Safety touchscreen test. There are approximately 151 test locations across the country, approximately 60 are bricks and mortar while approximately 90 are are visited on a regular basis, by one of the mobile test units. The health and safety test costs £17.50 per person and can be booked by calling 0344 994 4488 or online at www.cskills.org. You will need a debit or credit card to hand, to pay for the test upon booking. A range of publications are available to help you train and revise for your test. The test question book contains sample questions and answers to help with your revision and is put together in an easy to read format. Copies cost £8.49 each. The test question CD-ROM contains a variety of questions with voice-over and mock tests so you can practice. Copies cost £10.99 each. Both the book and CD-ROM can be purchased from high street booksellers, online retailers, through Thomson Prometric, by ringing the number above, or by visiting the Cskills website.
Technical Test
The technical test is comprised of two parts – part one is a theory test and part two a practical test. Candidates cannot attempt the practical test until they have passed the theory test. Because of this, we recommend the two tests are carried out on separate days to avoid loosing the practical test fee in case of an unsuccessful theory test.
The theory test generally takes around 1&1/4 hours to complete and questions are all verbally asked by the tester and recorded on audio tape. The candidate must attempt all questions in the time given. The practical test time limits vary from category to category and can be anywhere between an hour for the shortest test to three hours for the longest. Candidates must attempt all activities as set out in the practical test criteria in the time given. Some plant categories are carried out at a CPCS accredited test centre, whereas some categories are carried out, out of centre provided the location meets CPCS test centre criteria and the items of plant are in a serviceable condition, CE marked and with the operators manual. Please refer to the categories available at the bottom of this page for category test location.
Successful candidates of the technical test are issued with a red CPCS trained operator card that has a life of two years and is non-renewable. To upgrade the card to a blue CPCS competent operator card, the candidate must complete the relevant NVQ within the two year life of the red trained operator card. Please refer to the NVQs available in the courses section.