A White Paper will be issued in March outlining the government’s proposals for a skills card for the construction industry.

The proposal for the card originated from the Building Industry Consultative Council, which has been trying to find a way to simultaneously improve the level of professionalism in the industry, as well as to cut down on illegal workers. After that, a working group was set up to draft the proposed legislation.

BICC chairman Charles Buhagiar said the card would act as both a certificate of competence, as well as a way to encourage occupational health and safety training.

“Unfortunately many people appoint workers to do work in their home based only on personal recommendations and end up with botched jobs. The Skills Card would be a way for the customer to ensure that the person is really qualified to do that job,” he said.

There are over 87 trades in the construction industry ranging from manual work to professional jobs that require warrants. Since the card will apply to some 12,000 people, it will first be launched as a pilot project for just four trades: decorators; tile layers; plumbers and formwork erectors/steel fixers.

The White Paper will outline a number of issues on which feedback will be sought. One important decision will be to determine who will administer the scheme, which will involve the Ministry of Education, the Employment and Training Corporation, Mcast and the National Council for Further and Higher Education.

The card will be mandatory but applicants will be given at least two years in which to obtain it, offering those without qualifications the chance to get appropriate training. Mr Buhagiar said that the testing methods also needed to be determined, as they will combine a mixture of both written and on-site assessments, as appropriate.

The White Paper will also need to determine how often the card will need to be renewed. The intention is for the first card to be free but renewals to be against a fee.

Mr Buhagiar said that EU funding would be sought for both the certification process, as well as for training programmes, to help people qualify for the card.

“The Skills Card will make it much harder for people to work in the black economy. There are too many people who do not pay taxes or national insurance and who can therefore work for a lower wage, which is unfair on those who abide by the law. We need to have a level playing field if we are to encourage people to stay in the construction industry.

“Of course, the card will only be effective if there is enforcement, which could be in the hands of a different entity to the one that issues them.”

The Skills Card will automatically incorporate a Safety Card but the intention is to have a separate Safety Card for those who visit construction sites, a practice which is well established overseas. The Safety Card would need be used by everyone from tradesmen to real estate agents.

Those interested in the skills card are invited to notify the BICC (www.bicc.gov.mt) in order to receive notifications about developments.

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