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Pearson VUE appointed to deliver construction Health and Safety Test

Strand, LondonLearning NewsPearson VUE

CITB-ConstructionSkills – the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry in the UK – has appointed Pearson VUE to help it ensure thousands of construction workers remain health and safety aware in the workplace.

Introduced in 2001, the Health and Safety Test ensures that everyone working in the sector has a minimum level of Health and Safety knowledge and awareness. Bookings have grown dramatically from 50,000 in 2001 to more than 500,000 in 2010 - with a test now being booked every 60 seconds.

The exclusive multi-year agreement with Pearson VUE, commencing April 2012, will allow candidates to undertake the test at any of over 140 Pearson Professional Centres located throughout the UK.

Chris Little, Product Delivery Manager at CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: "Getting construction businesses at all levels to engage with Health and Safety is something which CITB-ConstructionSkills is keen to continue by listening to industry and developing its existing products and services to fit sector requirements."

The Test will be reviewed regularly to ensure that it complies with current legislation and meets industry requirements.

Suzana Lopes, Pearson VUE, Managing Director - New Markets, commented: "We are delighted to work with CITB-ConstructionSkills to ensure candidates have an appropriate knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety issues. Our role is not simply to deliver tests and provide CITB-ConstructionSkills with the relevant assessment data, but to offer a wide network of centres where candidates can take the test in a secure and invigilated environment."

Pearson VUE is the global leader in computer-based testing and delivers the largest computer-based test. The Driving Standards Agency's (DSA) Driving Theory Test is administered to approximately 1.6 million candidates annually throughout Great Britain.