CISRS sets out plans to reform global scaffolding training standards

CISRS has today published a major review of its Overseas Scaffolder Training Scheme, setting out a detailed analysis of the current challenges facing the global scaffolding training landscape and proposing a phased programme of reform that would establish a single, unified standard for scaffolders worldwide by 2028.

The paper, co-authored by Clive Dickin, Group CEO of NASC & CISRS, and Paul Napper, NASCs Head of Training and Education, places the OSTS within the context of a rapidly evolving global labour market. Since its launch in 2013, the scheme has grown significantly and now accounts for more than 30,000 cardholders across 22 training centres in the Middle East, Caribbean and Africa. That growth, alongside increasing confusion among global employers about the differences between card schemes, has made the case for reform both urgent and necessary.

Clive Dickin, Group CEO of NASC & CISRS, said: "The global scaffolding and access industry has changed significantly since the OSTS was introduced in 2013, and it is right that we take an honest and thorough look at whether the current framework is still fit for purpose.

“This paper sets out clearly why reform is both necessary and inevitable, and the three-stage programme we are proposing is designed to raise standards everywhere while protecting the integrity of the UK training pathway. We look forward to hearing the industry's views as we take this work forward."

The paper is direct in its assessment of the current position. The two-tier system introduced in 2013, which created a structural divide between UK CISRS labourer and trainee routes and the overseas OSTS Level 1 and above routes, was driven largely by commercial considerations rather than long-term workforce strategy.

The consequences have included market confusion and a gradual erosion of confidence in the UK baseline standard. The paper acknowledges plainly that with hindsight; the two-tier system should not have been adopted.

The review draws on a stakeholder consultation carried out in the fourth quarter of 2025, involving training centres, written submissions and direct discussion at the CISRS Board.

Feedback was consistent across several key themes: the need to protect UK apprenticeship and early career routes, concerns about compliance risk arising from misalignment between schemes, and widespread acknowledgement that the OSTS Level 1 already exceeds the UK Labourer Card in both duration and technical expectation.

Three strategic options are set out in the paper. The first is to retain the current two-tier system, which the paper argues effectively accepts lower standards at entry level and carries significant reputational risk for both CISRS and NASC. The second is global adoption of the UK standard, which would improve alignment but would not eliminate lower standards in all territories. The preferred option, and the one the paper recommends, is to uplift the UK labourer standard to align with OSTS Level 1, creating a single global baseline standard supported by technology-enabled and modular training delivery.

The proposed three-stage reform programme would begin in 2026 with amendments to system scaffolding courses to align with TG30, the repositioning of the OSTS card as an industrial card, and the removal of the requirement for overseas training providers to hold a UK headquarters. A transition period would follow, with parallel operation of both schemes, before a combined global programme is released in 2028 enabling a single, globally recognisable entry point for the scaffolding and access profession.