Overseas Qualifications
Ecctis is the parent company that previously looked after the UK NARIC brand and will now be the external facing name.
Historically, LISS/CSCS requested that applicants with overseas qualifications apply to the UK’s international qualifications agency UK NARIC for a Statement of Comparability to compare their awards to UK levels.
From 1 October 2019, applicants will be required to obtain an Industry Skills Statement.
This Ecctis service maps the skills of overseas qualification holders to UK National Occupational Standards, and also use Primary Source Verification (PSV) to verify that the overseas qualification is genuine.
This assists industry bodies in maintaining standards of work and health & safety on construction and land-based industry sites, and in preventing fraudulent applications for cards using fake or altered qualification and training certificates.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industry Skills Statement for Academically Qualified Persons – relevant for overseas applicants applying for the Academically Qualified Person (AQP) LISS/CSCS SmartCard.
As part of the wider strategy for combatting fraud, LISS/CSCS worked with Ecctis to introduce “Primary Source Verification” (PSV) into the application process.
PSV involves investigating the origin of the qualification, including the college it was delivered, to prove its authenticity. From 1st October 2019, all overseas academic applications must now pass this additional verification process.
Please download the Industry Skills Statement - AQP Flowchart and follow the steps.
Applying for a LISS/CSCS SmartCard
Applicants whose qualifications pass the PSV process are required to provide the following when applying for a LISS/CSCS SmartCard:
- An Ecctis Industry Skills Statement, AQP option
- A Primary Source Verification Report (issued with the above)
- A copy of the original qualification (translated)
- Once this information is received LISS/CSCS will review and confirm if the qualification is suitable for a LISS/CSCS card
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industry Skills Statement with Skills Mapping – relevant for overseas applicants applying for a skilled LISS/CSCS SmartCard:
Overseas land-based industry workers wishing to work in the UK must now have the technical content of their overseas vocational qualification mapped against the relevant UK National Occupational Standard for that occupation. This provides an in-depth record of each individual’s skills and capabilities, mapped against units in the National Occupational Standard for their trade.
This will improve understanding of the relationship between the UK and overseas land-based industry qualifications at a unit-by-unit level. The mapping to National Occupational Standards will help to ensure that workers have the training they require for their job and will pinpoint areas for additional training if required. The mapping will be verified by Lantra (acting as the Standard Setting Body for the Land-based Industry) before the qualification can be accepted as an approved equivalent to the UK based qualification.
Please download the Industry Skills Statement - Skills Mapping Flowchart and follow the steps provided.
Applying for a LISS/CSCS SmartCard
Applicants whose qualifications pass the enhanced verification process are required to provide the following when applying for a LISS/CSCS SmartCard:
- An Ecctis Industry Skills Statement, trades option
- A Primary Source Verification Report (issued with the above)
- A copy of the original qualification (translated)
- Once this information is received LISS/CSCS will review and confirm if the qualification is suitable for a LISS/CSCS SmartCard
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benefits
The introduction of the new verification process and the mapping of overseas qualifications against the appropriate UK NOS is a positive step that provides the industry with a robust level of scrutiny, similar to that already in place for UK based card applications.
By certifying that overseas land-based industry workers have the correct training and qualifications Ecctis and LISS/CSCS are improving standards and safety in the UK land-based industry.