New project to map construction ID cards in Europe to start this summer

A new study to map the different identity cards used in the construction industry across the European Union is set to start this summer.

The two-year project, co-funded by the European Union (EU), comes after evolutions in the technology and the make-up of people working on and running construction sites in the region.

The European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) said that construction could take advantage of new technologies to improve transparency on sites, especially in the context of the growing fragmentation and increased mobility of workers in the sector.

It argued that the industry needed new ways to identify and verify workers and companies.

There are already a number of different sectoral ID card schemes across Europe, developed at national, regional and local levels, all with different characteristics and functions.

FIEC said the study would identify good practice, the possibility of interconnection between schemes, and propose input for a possible framework for ID cards.

FIEC said, “The objective of this project is to guarantee the enforcement of EU rules, create a more transparent environment for workers, employers and labour authorities, and to foster fairer mobility of labour in the construction sector.”