Street Works Excavation and Reinstatement

These qualifications are for those employed in carrying out and monitoring works on the highway and cover a range of skills from those who need to safeguard their work by signing lighting and guarding to carrying out excavation and re-instatement work. They are available for both operators and supervisors. These qualifications provide routes to registration or re-registration on the Street Works Qualifications Register (SWQR) required under the New Roads and Street works Act 1991. Re-registration is required. 

If you are working, or supervising works, in the highway you could be required to hold one or more of the Street Works qualifications, depending on your job role. There are sixteen units of competence for Operatives and Supervisors. Nine units are applicable to Operatives and eight to Supervisors. One of these units (Unit 01 (LA)) applies to both groups. Details of the Street Works Scheme structure are as follows:

Qualifications Breakdown – England & Scotland

Units of competence for trained Operatives

LA (1)   Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

O1 (2)  Signing, lighting and guarding

O2 (3)  Excavation in the road/highway

O3 (4)  Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

O4 (5)  Reinstatement of sub-base and road-base in non-bituminous materials

O5 (6)  Reinstatement of cold-lay bituminous materials

O6 (7)   Reinstatement of hot-lay bituminous materials

O7 (8)  Reinstatement of concrete slabs

O8 (9)  Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

Units of competence for trained Supervisors

LA (1)   Location and avoidance of underground apparatus

S1 (10) Monitoring signing, lighting and guarding

S2 (11) Monitoring excavation in the road/highway

S3 (12) Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials

S4 (13) Motoring reinstatement of sub-base and road-base in non-bituminous materials

S5 (14) Monitoring reinstatement of bituminous materials

S6 (15) Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs

S7 (16) Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

Initial Application

If you require a Street Works ID card for employment covered by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, then you are required to attend a course to obtain the relevant qualifications. Once you have passed the course, we will notify the Awarding Body, CABWI who will issue your qualification certificates. We will then submit an application form to the Street Works Qualification Register (SWQR) which will detail the qualifications you have gained, your personal details and include an up to date photograph. Assuming all is correct you will then be issued with a Street Works ID card.

Re-assessment (England and/or Scotland)

For Candidates working in England and/or Scotland, card validity can be either five or six years depending on the qualification re-certification date. Therefore, each qualification successfully achieved will be given a unique expiry date on the card corresponding to the qualification certification date. Candidates may re-assess up to five years after the card expiration date. 

Where the card is approaching expiry, the Candidate will require to complete a re-assessment of the qualifications they wish to retain. Assessment is compulsory but training is not. The Centre will be able to advise on the most appropriate route for card renewal.

Additional Qualifications (UK)

Candidates can apply to add qualifications to their SWQR card at any point before card expiry.

For Candidates who have re-registered for working in Wales and/or Northern Ireland, Additional Qualifications will be given the same expiry date as the current card. This alignment of the qualifications will allow Candidates to re-register all future qualifications simultaneously.

Candidates who have had cards issued under the legislation for England and/or Scotland, the Additional Qualifications will not affect the expiry dates for the existing qualifications on the candidate’s card. Instead, each Additional Qualification will be given their own unique five-year expiry date in line with the qualification certification date.

Minimum Qualifications Candidates Must Hold

For Candidates, the key Units (England and Scotland) are:

For Operatives:

Location and Avoidance of Underground Apparatus (LA);

OR

O1 - Signing, Lighting and Guarding (SLG)

LA can be held in its own right, as can O1, however, both are required if the Candidate chooses to obtain further certificates.

For Supervisors:

Location and Avoidance of Underground Apparatus (LA);

OR

S1 – Monitoring, Signing, Lighting and Guarding

LA can be held in its own right, as can S1, however, both are required if the Candidate chooses to obtain further certificates.

The Key Units (Wales and Northern Ireland) are:

For Operatives:

Location and Avoidance of Underground Apparatus (LA);

O1 - Signing, Lighting and Guarding (SLG)

O2 - Excavation in the road/highway 

For Supervisors:

Location and Avoidance of Underground Apparatus (LA);

S1 – Monitoring, Signing, Lighting and Guarding

S2 – Monitoring excavation in the road/highway