IN Brief:
- CITB has revoked 511 fraudulent Health, Safety and Environment test results.
- Three men were sentenced after admitting involvement in a construction safety test fraud operation.
- Information has been shared with card schemes so fraudulently obtained cards can be withdrawn.
CITB has revoked 511 fraudulent Health, Safety and Environment test results after three men were sentenced over an organised cheating operation linked to a test centre in Essex.
The case followed a joint investigation by CITB and Essex Police into activity at an Internet Test Centre in Halstead. The investigation centred on Whitewaters Training Centre and fraudulent activity connected to the CITB HS&E test, which is used across construction as part of the route into recognised card schemes and site access.
William White, Kujtim Osmani, and Artur Dauti pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. White and Osmani also pleaded guilty to converting criminal property. White was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. Osmani received a one-year-and-seven-month sentence suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work, while Dauti received a one-year-and-10-month sentence suspended for two years, also with 200 hours of unpaid work.
Investigators found that candidates were being charged up to £500 for a corrupt test, compared with the standard HS&E test fee of £23.50. White was found to have played a leading role in facilitating 511 fraudulent tests, with illegal profits estimated at a minimum of £153,000.
CITB has revoked the fraudulent results and shared information with relevant card schemes so that cards obtained through invalid tests can be withdrawn. A Proceeds of Crime confiscation hearing is expected later this year.
The case arrives during a period of intense scrutiny over construction competence, safety assurance, and site access. The HS&E test is not a complete measure of trade competence, but it is one of the baseline checks used across the industry. When that baseline is corrupted, the risk spreads from individual candidates to contractors, clients, supervisors, and scheme operators relying on those records.
The enforcement action sits alongside the sector’s broader skills challenge. CITB’s latest grant figures showed support for 30,837 apprentices in the 2025–26 financial year, reflecting the scale of investment needed to bring new workers into construction. That investment depends on credible assessment routes. Shortcuts into safety credentials weaken the value of legitimate training and make it harder for employers to distinguish between real competence and paperwork.
Fraud also creates commercial damage. Contractors that pay for training, testing, supervision, and compliance are placed at a disadvantage when others bypass the system. On site, the consequences can be sharper still, particularly where workers are entering environments involving lifting operations, work at height, plant movement, temporary works, live services, confined spaces, or public interface.
For principal contractors, the case reinforces the need to treat card checks as part of a wider assurance process. Identity verification, induction records, supervision, trade-specific competence, and ongoing monitoring still matter. A card may open the gate, but it cannot replace the management systems needed to understand whether a person can work safely in a specific environment.
The revocation of more than 500 results is a substantial correction to the record. It also highlights the continuing need for intelligence-sharing between testing bodies, card schemes, employers, and law enforcement. As demand for labour remains high, the incentives for credential fraud will persist. The construction sector’s response will need to be as systematic as the abuse it is trying to prevent.
