CSCS cards and IFA membership in job adverisements for diggers...what a laugh

[BigALtheDiggerman]

It never ceases to amaze me how bloody cheeky commercial units are when they advertise for staff. Not only do they continue using the 'self employed' card, a certain northern unit take note, they continue to take the piss when employing excavation staff. So a graduate or entry level digger wanting employment with commercial units are expected to have a CSCS card AND IFA membership...on the crap wages they are offering thats extracting the urine. In 25 years as a field archaeologist I thought Id seen it all. The IFA for all their posturing has in my experience done nothing for anybody other than IFA members so diggers would be better of joining a union....thats if the unit recognises unions. By all means go get a CSCS card if your desperate but CSCS cards should be supplied and paid for by the employer, same as PPE and safety equipment.

[Dinosaur]

Phew! Not us getting the flack for once then, clear on all 3 counts :face-approve:

[Jack]

Whats wrong with being self-employed? I did very well when I was...and was actually worse off when I ceased to be!

As to a CSCS card it is a requirement on most (if not all construction sites), like a ticket for plant drivers.

Some employers will pay for their employees to take the test. Though things seem to get fuzzy with some companies when they are employing temporary staff on short contracts.

I wonder where the legal line lies? I suspect its all a bit grey (as with most things)

[kevin wooldridge]

My suspicion is that asking for CSCS cards and IfA membership is just a way for HR departments to cut down the number of applicants for jobs....very easy to filter out those under-qualified for the position. Of course it hardly needs asking what qualities a CSCS and IfA membership actually indicate, but who really knows how the minds of HR departments work...I guess asking for someone with ginger hair who can shift rocks probably breaches some equality legislation:I

[BigALtheDiggerman]

My suspicion is that asking for CSCS cards and IfA membership is just a way for HR departments to cut down the number of applicants for jobs....very easy to filter out those under-qualified for the position. Of course it hardly needs asking what qualities a CSCS and IfA membership actually indicate, but who really knows how the minds of HR departments work...I guess asking for someone with ginger hair who can shift rocks probably breaches some equality legislation:I

Your probably right but as somebody who is ginger and a rock shifter I've found that HR departments go for photogenic cocks who couldn't find a rock if it hit them in the face.

[Dinosaur]

CSCS is actually necessary to work on most construction or utilities schemes these days, so has some validity (although I agree the employer should pay for it), but demanding IFA is just archaeology companies taking the p***, doesn't imply anything whatsoever about the candidate's suitability and no one in the construction industry's ever heard of it anyway so has no validity beyond the confines of the employing archaeological manager's tiny mind :face-stir:

[P Prentice]

No - its a pain in the arse to organise cscs cards when you need to put people on site as soon as they start. inevitably people start in dribs and drabs and it is too expensive to have them twiddling off site if they are not allowed on until they have a card - even though the cscs scheme is a joke verging on scam. by asking for cscs cards you automatically filter out people who are not really serious about getting a job. all ifa ro's will say that ifa membership is desirable because it is. neither of these things indicate you are a good archaeologist or digger and their use will always be dependent on available supply of labour but they are a useful starting point and filter

@bigal - why would any organisation be interested in promoting benefits to non-members? or what have the romans ever done for us.
but yes join a union - get empowered

[BigALtheDiggerman]

The IFA were crowing for years about how they have improved the working conditions and wages of archaeological workers. In the nineties they undertook a survey of wages which inflated the wages we were getting, because they only sent the survey forms to IFA members and unit management. Surely if you want the bulk of the profession to join your organisation you need to be seen to be helping the digger on the front line. Oh and make it more affordable and have an application system that's easy to understand.

[Doug]

Everyone else has pretty much covered the CSCS card (for the joke that it is) is not an unreasonable request. I would just add that at 47.5 (30 for card and 17.50 for that joke test, if you pass the first time) it is 568 times cheaper than a 3 year English degree (fees alone, not including living and lost wages). In that comparison it is a downright steal.

Moreover, a CSCS card actually gets you a job (drum snare). Too soon for new graduates?

[Tool]

I think if you are unemployed and on JSA, you can get help for getting a CSCS card. I think you still have to pay part of the cost, but not all of it. That was the route recommended to me, and booked into my local college for it. So if you're wanting a card but currently on JSA, ask. I won't add that I was then offered a job with a company that organised and paid for my card... As I don't want to use words and phrases like 'con', 'rip-off', 'tax on working', 'useless', 'takes responsibility away from where it should lie' etc. I shall refrain from voicing my views on the card itself.