Streetworks changes mean thousands of tests

Changes came into force this week which will affect anyone involved in public highway works or streetworks in England.

New rules governing Street Works qualifications mean that anyone whose Street Works Qualification Register (SWQR) card has expired or is due to expire must be reassessed before they can reapply and continue to work - a change that could affect up to 54,000 individuals this year alone.

Training specialist Develop’s Street Works Manager, Dave Warburton, said: “There are around 270,000 people currently holding a SWQR card and it’s reasonable to expect that around 20% of these will expire this year.

“From today these individuals will be unable to work until they have successfully completed a reassessment. This doesn’t just affect road construction workers but council employees and anyone who alters any part of a road or pavement, including signage or guarding. The resulting enforced downtime will delay work, cost businesses money and impact on company performance.”

The reassessment will take the form of a written multiple-choice test paper - one for each unit of competence currently held. Only those achieving a mark of 80% in each unit will pass and if more than one unit is failed they will have to undergo extra training – incurring further delays.

Warburton added: “People must take this change seriously and if they need to be reassessed, prepare properly. Only this way will they maximise the likelihood of passing and avoid having to go through the cost and delay of additional training.”