Hinkley Point C is working with the Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) to continue ensuring that the thousands of workers operating on the nuclear site remain safe
As Hinkley Point C, the largest and most complex engineering construction project in Europe, moves into its mechanical and electrical phase, the CCNSG Safety Passport will play a crucial role in ensuring workers can operate safely.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) nationally recognised CCNSG scheme has been the go-to industry safety card for the engineering construction industry (ECI) for over 30 years, with more than 85,500 active cardholders.
The safety passport equips workers with the core knowledge, behaviours, and awareness required to operate safely in a complex nuclear environment.
CCNSG was created by industry and continues to be overseen by a committee of which HPC is a member. The committee advises on the scheme’s content and delivery and comprises engineering, construction, asset owners, employers, contractors, training providers, and unions.
Ensuring a ‘common standard’ of safety at Hinkley Point C
Suitable for all workers in the industry, the quality-assured CCNSG Safety Passport scheme is a two-day course that gives delegates enhanced health and safety awareness.
The course is delivered through face-to-face training, delegate discussion and shared experience, followed by a knowledge test.
On completion, successful candidates receive a CCNSG card, which is valid for three years and is often a prerequisite for workers to enter a site. Workers renew their cards either by attending a one-day renewal course or by sitting the Test-Only for Renewal.
Renewal of cards for HPC workers takes place via delivery of the CCNSG Test-Only Renewal route directly on-site at the HOST Campus thanks to a partnership between the ECITB, EDF, MEH Alliance, Bridgwater & Taunton College and HOST.
Jamie White, construction skills capability lead at EDF, explained: “Operating such a huge, complex site means safety is our first priority and has to be at the forefront of everything we do. The CCNSG course ensures all workers meet a common standard before stepping onto our site.
“Our approach to skills and our investment in our workforce in partnerships, such as we have with ECITB and CCNSG, provides the very best support to our project.
“This is why we have worked closely with the Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) from the very beginning and been a supporter of the scheme throughout, as it is the right fit for supporting our workforce and supply chain requirements.”
A collaborative approach to skills
This CCNSG commitment builds on the collaborative approach to skills on the nuclear site between HPC and the ECITB.
This has included developing the Hinkley Support Operative (HSO) bronze programme. The two-week programme uses the suite of ECITB short courses, together with the CCNSG Safety Passport, to train operatives new to working on a site.
It provides learners with health and safety knowledge and basic engineering skills to enable them to gain employment as a general support operative on the HPC project. They can then progress onto the HSO silver and gold programmes, which build on the worker’s engineering skills and knowledge and equip them for progression onto apprenticeships.
ECITB chief executive Andrew Hockey concluded: “The ECITB’s CCNSG Safety Passport scheme provides a nationally recognised safety standard, underpinned by industry input, that supports Hinkley Point C’s commitment to maintaining a strong safety culture at one of the UK’s most complex, high-hazard sites.
“Having the first-ever CCNSG testing facility embedded on a live UK industry site is a milestone that reflects our commitment to safe site access, safety-critical refresher training and supporting HPC to maintain a competent, compliant workforce.”
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