Trades CV Guide — How to Showcase Your CSCS Card and Licences

Why a Trades CV Is Different

If you're a plumber, electrician, gas engineer, scaffolder, bricklayer, carpenter, or any other trades professional, your CV needs to lead with your qualifications and licences — not your work experience narrative. Contractors, site managers, and recruitment agencies need to know immediately whether you hold the right cards and certifications. Everything else is secondary.

Your Licences and Certifications Come First

The most important part of any trades CV is a clear, scannable list of your certifications. Include:

• CSCS card — colour, expiry date, and skill type (e.g., Gold Card — Skilled Worker — Electrical Installation)
• Gas Safe registration — registration number and categories (domestic, commercial, LPG)
• ECS card — for electricians, include your level (Apprentice, Trainee, Electrician, Approved Electrician, Engineer)
• IPAF / PASMA — powered access and scaffold tower licences
• NVQ level — NVQ Level 2 or 3 in your trade
• SSSTS / SMSTS — Site Supervisor or Site Manager Safety Training Scheme certificates
• First Aid — First Aid at Work or Emergency First Aid at Work, with expiry date
• Asbestos awareness — mandatory on most sites
• DBS check — if working in domestic or social housing

List each one clearly with the awarding body and expiry date where relevant. An expired CSCS card is useless — make sure everything is current before applying.

Structure Your Trades CV Like This

1. Personal details — name, phone, email, postcode (city is fine, full address not needed)
2. Profile — two or three sentences covering your trade, years of experience, and the type of work you do (domestic, commercial, industrial, new-build, refurb)
3. Licences and certifications — as above, clearly listed
4. Work experience — reverse chronological, with company/contractor name, dates, and a brief description of projects, sites, and responsibilities
5. Trade qualifications and apprenticeship — City & Guilds, NVQ, apprenticeship details
6. Tools and equipment — list specialist tools or plant you're competent with

Self-Employment and CIS

If you're self-employed, note this in your work history with "Self-employed" as the employer name. Include whether you're registered under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) — many contractors require this for payment purposes. If you have a UTR number, you don't need to list it on your CV but confirm CIS registration in your cover letter or at interview.

What Types of Work to Highlight

Contractors and agencies want to know the size and type of projects you've worked on:

• Domestic (one-off homeowner jobs) vs commercial (offices, retail, schools, hospitals) vs industrial (factories, warehouses)
• New-build vs refurbishment vs fit-out
• Value of projects or number of units (e.g., "200-unit new-build housing development for Persimmon Homes")
• Any specialist work — underfloor heating, EV charger installation, Part P compliance, commercial catering gas, refrigerants

The Driving Licence Question

For most trades roles, a full UK driving licence is essential. State it clearly — "Full UK driving licence, own vehicle" if applicable. If you have a Cat C or Cat C+E (HGV), include that too. If you have endorsements, you don't need to disclose them at CV stage (spent convictions do not need to be declared unless the role requires a DBS check).

Gaps Between Contracts

Gaps are completely normal in trades work. A gap between December and February when construction activity slows is unremarkable. Simply list your contracts chronologically — there is no expectation of continuous employment in trades and construction the way there might be in office-based roles.

Keep It Short

A trades CV should be one to two pages. Most contractors and site managers don't read beyond the first page — they're looking for the card, the gas number, or the NVQ. Get the key information above the fold and keep the rest concise.