What is the CCNSG Safety Passport?

If you work in engineering construction, maintenance or on process sites, sooner or later someone will ask whether you hold a CCNSG Safety Passport. It’s one of the most widely requested safety qualifications on these sites, and for many contractors it’s the key that gets them through the gate. Here’s what the passport is, what the course involves, and how to get one.

Where the passport comes from

CCNSG stands for the Client/Contractor National Safety Group. The group brought together site owners (the clients) and the contractors who work for them to agree a common standard of health and safety training. Before the scheme, every site could set its own induction requirements, and contractors often had to repeat similar training again and again. A shared passport means everyone arriving on site has covered the same core material.

The scheme is awarded by the ECITB, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board. When you pass the course, you receive an ECITB CCNSG Safety Passport card that you can show to site owners and principal contractors as proof of your training.

Who it’s for

The passport is designed for anyone working on engineering construction, manufacturing and process sites. That includes:

• Engineers, technicians and fitters
• Electricians, welders and mechanical trades
• Maintenance and shutdown contractors
• Scaffolders, labourers and general operatives
• Supervisors, and visitors who need regular access to site

You don’t need any previous qualifications to take the course. You do need a good level of spoken and written English, because the course is taught and assessed in English.

Requirements vary from site to site, so if you’re not sure whether you need the passport, ask your employer or the site’s principal contractor before you book.

What the two-day course covers

The core Safety Passport course runs over two days. It focuses on the behaviours and knowledge that keep people safe on busy, high-risk sites. Topics include:

• Safety behaviours at work: why incidents happen and how individual choices prevent them.
• The law: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and what it means for employers and workers.
• Risks and hazards: spotting hazards, understanding risk and using risk assessments.
• Fire safety: fire prevention, raising the alarm and evacuation.
• Manual handling: lifting and moving loads without injury.
• Confined spaces: why they’re dangerous and the controls that make work in them safe.
• Asbestos: where it may be found and what to do if you suspect it.
• COSHH: working safely with hazardous substances.
• Signage: reading and following safety signs.
• Environmental aspects: preventing pollution and handling waste properly.
• Reporting and RIDDOR: reporting accidents, near misses and dangerous occurrences.

Throughout, there’s an emphasis on communicating clearly and working as a team to achieve safe outcomes.

How you’re assessed

The course is deliberately interactive. Rather than sitting through two days of slides, you’ll work through case studies and group exercises, and your tutor assesses you as you go. At the end, there’s a multiple-choice test.

You must attend every session to pass, so plan your travel and time off carefully. If you’re worried about the test, don’t be: the case studies and discussions are designed to prepare you for it, and your tutor will explain anything you’re unsure about.

Your card, and how long it lasts

When you pass, you receive the ECITB CCNSG Safety Passport card. It’s valid for three years.

To keep your passport current, you take a one-day renewal course within three months of the expiry date. It’s worth putting a reminder in your calendar as soon as you receive your card, because an expired passport can stop you getting onto site.

Leading a team

If you supervise others, there’s an extra day of training called CCNSG Leading a Team Safely. It builds on the Safety Passport course and focuses on the responsibilities of people who lead small teams on site. Ask your training provider whether you can add it to your booking.

Training a whole team

If several people in your company need the passport, it can be more convenient to bring the training to you. Knight Learning can run the course at your premises for groups of three or more, on dates that suit your work schedule.

Ready to book?

The two-day ECITB CCNSG Safety Passport course is available to book with Knight Learning. Use the Book button to reserve your place, or send a WhatsApp message to ask about dates, venues and group training.