There is plenty of construction work available in London, both temporary and permanent. In order to work in construction in London in either role, you’ll need to be able to fulfil certain criteria. You may be required to possess relevant qualifications, which show that you are capable of performing the work to the required level of expertise. Some agencies will ask that you hold a current driving licence, or that you are able to speak English to an intermediate level.

The bare bones of what you need in order to find construction work in the capital don’t change no matter where you look.

You’ll either need to have completed a relevant qualification (in London it’ll be the NVQ in your trade); or to be studying for it while you start. One of these two criteria must be fulfilled in order that you qualify for your Construction Skills Certification Scheme Card.

The CSCS Card for Construction in London

The CSCS Card is an industry wide measure of your competence on a building site – both in terms of health and safety and of skill level. It’s basically equivalent to the NVQ for your trade: so if you have achieved NVQ to a specified level, and passed the CSCS Health, Safety and Environment Test that goes with your trade, then you’ll be eligible for your card.

The Card is used to make sure that the workers on a building site are who they say they are: and that their skills and qualifications are as they claim. The Construction Skills Certification Scheme was originally introduced to quash problems with site safety and worker skills that were being experienced by employers in construction in London and the rest of the country. From an employer’s point of view, each worker’s CSCS Card is an insurance policy: that they are technically able to work on a building site, and that they are safely qualified to do so.

If You Have no Qualifications to Work in Construction in London

Don’t worry if you don’t yet have qualifications to work in construction in London. Plenty of agencies and building sites will take you on provided you enrol in the relevant NVQ and apply for a CSCS Card that bridges the gap. For a detailed explanation of CSCS Card types take a look at the Construction Support Line site, or navigate to one of the relevant articles in our blog.

If you are a non UK national, remember that the one thing you can’t start work without is a visa and/or a work permit. Your visa and work permit requirements must be taken care of by the relevant agencies. Once you have the required documentation, you’ll be able to start looking for work.

Finding Work in Construction in London

Construction Support Line may be able to help you find work in construction in London. We’ve expanded our core service (booking CSCS Health, Safety & Environment Tests in London) to include recruitment support for both London construction companies and construction workers looking for a job.  You can apply for work online through the Construction Support Line site.