IPAF has received confirmation from the Scottish Government’s Procurement and Commercial Directorate that the PAL Card is recognised as fulfilling training requirements for companies engaged in public sector construction contracts.

In a letter to IPAF dated 9 January, Colin Judge, Principal Adviser — Construction Procurement, wrote: “Given its worldwide standing we assume that public works contractors will, where appropriate, continue to accept membership of the International Powered Access Federation as proof of the relevant skills, training and safety awareness necessary for on-site staff.”

Mr Judge also quoted paragraph 7, Annex B of Policy Note 9/2012, which states: “Scottish Government does not prescribe CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) as the absolute or exclusive means for contractors to demonstrate compliance with the policy. Contractors performing a public contract can do so by reference to other means that they consider are equivalent to CSCS for assessing skills, training and safety in relation to the particular nature of the contract.”

For further reference, see Scottish Procurement Policy Note SPPN 9/2012: Construction Skills Certification Scheme.