What is City & Guilds?
City & Guilds is one of the largest vocational awarding organisations in the UK. The City and Guilds of London Institute was founded in 1878 to set standards for technical and industrial training, and the name has been attached to practical, work-based qualifications ever since.
Its qualifications are regulated by Ofqual and recognised across industry, and in health and safety it is best known for confined space qualifications and as one of the awarding bodies for street works under the New Roads and Street Works Act.
An awarding body is not a training provider. City & Guilds sets the qualification standards, approves centres to deliver and assess against them, and issues the certificates. The training itself is delivered by an approved centre.
Envico is an independent training intermediary. We list City & Guilds courses from approved centres across the UK so you can compare dates, venues and formats in one place.
City & Guilds confined space qualifications
The City & Guilds 6160 suite is the recognised qualification framework for working in confined spaces. It supports compliance with the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, which require anyone entering a confined space to be competent for the specific conditions involved.
The units are graded by risk, not by seniority. Low, medium and high risk describe the confined space itself — how difficult it is to enter and leave, what breathing apparatus is required, and how complex any rescue would be. They are not beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Book against the spaces your people actually enter. A high-risk qualification is not a promotion from low risk, and low risk does not cover a space that is medium or high.
City & Guilds 6160-01
◆ Low risk
Spaces with straightforward access and egress, where escape without breathing apparatus is realistic and rescue is uncomplicated. Typical of shallow chambers, valve pits and similar.
City & Guilds 6160-09
◆ Medium risk
Spaces where escape breathing apparatus is required and rescue arrangements are more involved. Covers entry procedures, atmospheric monitoring and the use of escape sets.
City & Guilds 6160-03
◆ High risk
Spaces requiring full breathing apparatus, restricted or vertical access, and a dedicated rescue capability on standby. The most demanding category, common in deep chambers and process vessels.
What confined space training covers
- Identifying a confined space and the specified risks that bring it within the Regulations
- Risk assessment, the safe system of work and the permit to work
- Atmospheric hazards, gas monitoring and the correct use of detection equipment
- Selection and use of respiratory protective equipment and escape sets
- Safe entry and exit procedures, including access equipment and tripods
- Communication, standby duties and controlling who is inside
- Emergency arrangements and rescue, which must be in place before entry rather than improvised after
City & Guilds NRSWA street works
The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 requires anyone working on the public highway to hold the correct units on a Street Works Qualifications Register (SWQR) card, with a qualified supervisor responsible for the site. City & Guilds is one of the recognised awarding bodies for the scheme, alongside CABWI and SQA.
Units are taken individually rather than as a single course, and you only need the ones matching the work you do. All three awarding bodies lead to the same SWQR card with the same standing.
City & Guilds — O-series units
For those carrying out street works: locating apparatus, excavation, reinstatement, and signing, lighting and guarding. Units taken in combinations matching the work.
City & Guilds — S-series units
For those monitoring street works and responsible for compliance on site. A supervisor card does not permit you to carry out the work yourself.
City & Guilds — card renewal
Renews an SWQR card for a further five years. Must be completed before the card expires, otherwise the full initial course has to be retaken.
Not sure which units you need? Street works qualifications are taken as individual units, and the combination depends on whether you excavate, reinstate, or only sign and guard. Our full guide to NRSWA training sets out every unit, the key certificates and the combinations most commonly booked.
City & Guilds questions
Which confined space risk level do I need?
It depends on the spaces your people enter, not their experience. The classification comes from your own risk assessment: how the space is entered and left, whether breathing apparatus is needed, and how a casualty would be recovered. If your risk assessment does not classify the space, that is the first thing to sort out — booking training before knowing the category usually means booking the wrong one.
Does high risk cover low and medium risk work?
Not automatically, and it should not be assumed. The units are separate qualifications covering different equipment and procedures. Check what your certificate actually records, and what your client or principal contractor requires, rather than treating the categories as a ladder.
Is City & Guilds better than CABWI or SQA for street works?
No. All three award against the same scheme and all three lead to the same SWQR card with identical legal standing. Some clients specify one, usually because their own records are set up that way. Unless you have been told otherwise, choose on dates, venue and price.
How long does a City & Guilds qualification last?
Street works qualifications last five years, renewed by reassessment before the card expires. Confined space qualifications do not carry a fixed statutory expiry, but competence must be current — three-year refresher is the usual industry convention, and many clients require it.
Does City & Guilds deliver the training itself?
No. City & Guilds approves and quality-assures centres to deliver and assess its qualifications, then issues the certificates. Your training is delivered by the approved centre you book with.