When Experience No Longer Counts

Grandfather Rights, CSCS Cards

Grandfather Rights, CSCS Cards and a Skills System That Is Losing Its Way

For most of my career, competence in construction meant something very simple.
You learned the job, you stayed safe, and you got better over time. That balance feels like it is slipping. As of the end of 2024, Grandfather Rights under the CSCS scheme were withdrawn. Experienced tradespeople who relied on industry accreditation can no longer renew their cards unless they hold a formal qualification, typically an NVQ.

On paper, this is about raising standards. On-site, it is creating real problems.

When 30 Years’ Experience Is Not Enough -I employ people who have been doing their jobs safely and competently for decades.As I said recently in a client conversation,  I can have someone with 30 years’ experience, but I am told they cannot come on-site. At the same time, I can send someone straight out of college with an NVQ Level 3, and they are accepted.  That is not a hypothetical scenario. It is happening now.

This is not a criticism of young people or qualifications. NVQs absolutely have their place. But treating a certificate as more valuable than decades of lived experience is a dangerous oversimplification.

Qualifications Do Not Equal Competence on Their Own – Even the Health and Safety Executive is clear. Competence is a combination of training, skills, knowledge and experience.Experience matters. It is how judgment is built. It is how risks are spotted early. It is how problems are solved when plans do not match reality. One of the most worrying aspects of this shift is how little it reflects what actually keeps people safe on site.
“This feels like tick-box compliance, not real competence.”

The Cost Is Being Pushed Down the Supply Chain – Another uncomfortable truth is who pays for this. Large clients and Tier 1 contractors set the requirements, and SMEs are left to fund the consequences.

I have had experienced roofers, people who have done the job safely for 30 years, told that they must sit additional exams, complete new training, and absorb the cost themselves. In at least one case, after all that investment, no further roofing work followed. That is not skills development. That is risk transfer.

A Policy That Collides With the Skills Shortage – At the same time, we are told the industry faces a skills crisis. We are told we need more homes, more infrastructure, and more people entering the construction industry.So I have to ask the obvious question.

“If experienced people cannot get on site, who exactly is training the next generation?”

You cannot mentor apprentices without mentors. You cannot close the skills gap by pushing skilled people out.
“This is how the world goes mad, we talk about a skills shortage, then make it harder for skilled people to work.”

What CSCS Cards Were Meant to Do – CSCS cards were designed to demonstrate health and safety awareness and a baseline level of competence. They were never intended to measure craftsmanship or decades of practical knowledge. Using them as a blunt gatekeeper, without flexibility or recognition of experience, risks undermining the very outcomes the system is meant to support.

We Need Balance, Not Extremes – This is not an argument against standards, training or qualifications. It is an argument against removing experience from the equation. If we continue down a path where paperwork outweighs judgment, and certificates outweigh capability, we will lose people we cannot easily replace.And once they leave, they are unlikely to come back. We should not be forced to choose between experience and education. The industry needs both, and policies should reflect that reality.

If we continue down a path where experience is devalued and compliance replaces competence, we risk:

  • Accelerating the loss of skilled workers
  • Deepening the skills gap.
  • Undermining the very safety and quality these rules aim to protect.

The question isn’t whether standards matter. It’s whether we’re applying them wisely. We need:

  • Hybrid routes that properly recognise experience
  • Assessment models that value demonstrated competence, not just certificates
  • A system that supports safety, skills retention and workforce sustainability together

If the goal is safer sites and a stronger industry, then experience must still count. Because a skills strategy that excludes skilled people is not a strategy at all.

Thanks for reading,

Sonia Murton – Managing Director, Westbury FM

References

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