Construction CV templates for site, trade and management roles
A construction CV should open with your tickets and cards, because that is what a site manager or agency checks first: CSCS card type, SMSTS or SSSTS, first aid, plant tickets and driving licence. After that, list the projects you worked on with their type, size and your role, then your employers, training and trade qualifications.
By Adam Smith, EditorPublished Updated
Three templates that suit construction CVs
- Minimalist ATS
Minimalist ATS is a Pro template with one plain column and standard headings. It puts a tickets and cards block where the eye lands first and reads cleanly in the screening software that larger contractors and agencies use.
- Modern Professional
Modern Professional is free and single-column, with a little more visual structure. A good fit for tradespeople and site supervisors who want a clear one or two page CV with qualifications and projects easy to find.
- LaTeX ATS Professional
LaTeX ATS Professional is a Pro template with typeset-style headings and tight spacing. It suits quantity surveyors, estimators, planners and site managers with long project lists who need to fit a lot onto two pages.
Sample CV
Free accounts open this example in the free Modern Professional template.
Tickets and cards go at the top
On a construction CV the qualifications section is not a formality at the end. It decides whether you can start on site, so it belongs straight under your name, in a short block that a busy reader can take in at a glance. List each card or ticket with the level and expiry date.
- CSCS card: the exact card type, such as Labourer, Blue Skilled Worker, Gold Skilled Worker, Supervisory or Manager.
- Site safety training: SSSTS for supervisors or SMSTS for site managers, with the date you passed.
- Plant and access tickets, such as for excavators, telehandlers or MEWPs, by scheme and category.
- First aid at work, fire marshal, asbestos awareness and any other site courses the advert mentions.
- Full UK driving licence, and whether you have your own transport.
CSCS issues thirteen different cards, reflecting different occupations, qualifications and levels of experience, and it warns that holding the wrong card may mean being refused entry to site. Every card needs a pass in the appropriate level of the CITB health, safety and environment test. So write the card type exactly as printed, not just "CSCS card". SSSTS and SMSTS are part of CITB's Site Safety Plus scheme; name the one you hold rather than writing "site safety trained".
Three kinds of construction job, three kinds of CV
Construction hires across very different roles, and the evidence the reader wants changes with each.
Trades and labourers
Lead with your trade, your NVQ level and your card, then the kinds of job you do: first fix and second fix joinery, brickwork on new build housing, groundworks, dryline and tape, scaffolding. Contractors want to know you can work to drawings, keep to the programme and leave the site tidy. One page is usually enough.
Site supervisors and managers
Lead with SMSTS or SSSTS and your card, then projects. Show the size of what you ran (plots, storeys, value, number of trades on site), the stages you covered and your record on safety, programme and quality: inspections passed, snags closed before handover, subcontractors coordinated. Two pages is fine.
Professional and office roles
Quantity surveyors, estimators, planners and design coordinators need a more conventional professional CV, with project values, contract types, software and progress towards membership of a professional body. You still list your CSCS card if you visit site, and the project list does the heavy lifting.
A project list with value, type and your role
Job titles in construction vary so much between firms that a reader learns more from the projects. For each one, give the type of building or work, its size, the contract value if you know it and are free to share it, and exactly what you did.
Agency, subcontract and self-employed work
A lot of construction work is short-term, through agencies or as a subcontractor, and a CV with twenty two-month jobs looks messier than the career behind it. Group it. One entry for each agency or each spell of self-employment, with the dates, then a short list of the main sites or contractors you worked for and the kind of work. This shows steady employment and keeps the page readable.
If you are asked about gaps, winter lay-offs and the end of a contract are common in construction. A short phrase such as "between contracts" is enough.
Right to work, licence and travel
Employers must check that every new employee has the right to work in the UK before they start. If you already have it, a short line such as "Full right to work in the UK" near the top saves a phone call. Say how far you can travel and whether you have your own transport, because many sites are outside town centres and start early.
From trade to site manager
Many site managers started on the tools, and that background is worth keeping on the CV. Collapse your trade years into a single entry with the qualification and one or two lines, then give the supervisory roles more space. Show each step up: running a gang, then a phase, then a site. Name the management training that marks each step, such as SSSTS then SMSTS, and any construction management qualification you are working towards.
Which of these templates to use
All three suggested templates are single-column, so contractors and agencies that use applicant tracking systems can read your tickets, projects and dates in the right order. The first two suit trades and site roles; the third suits professional roles with longer project lists.
Already have a CV?
- Check your CV free with the ATS checker: see how an application system reads it, with your top three fixes, and no sign-up.
- Tailor your CV to a job advert: paste the advert and see which parts of your CV to change.
Questions people ask
- What should I put on a construction CV?
- Start with your tickets and cards: CSCS card type, SMSTS or SSSTS, plant tickets, first aid and driving licence. Then list projects or sites with the type, size and your role, followed by employers, trade qualifications and training. Keep it to one page for trades and two for managers.
- Should I put my CSCS card on my CV?
- Yes, with the exact card type and expiry date. CSCS issues thirteen different cards and warns that the wrong one can mean being refused entry to site, so employers check it early. Leave the card number off the CV and give it when an employer asks.
- How do I write a labourer CV with little experience?
- Lead with your CSCS Labourer card, any site courses and your driving licence, then the sites or jobs you have worked on, even short ones through an agency. Add reliability evidence, such as early starts and working in all weathers, and any trade you are learning.
- How do I show agency work on a construction CV?
- Group it under one entry per agency with the dates, then list the main sites, contractors and types of work below. This shows steady employment and avoids a long list of short jobs. Do the same for self-employed or subcontract spells.
- How long should a site manager CV be?
- Two pages of A4. Put your cards, SMSTS and a short summary at the top, then your projects with the number of plots or the value, the stages you ran and your safety, quality and programme record. Earlier trade experience can be summarised in a few lines.
- Do quantity surveyors need a different CV?
- Yes, it is closer to a professional CV. Lead with a summary and a project list showing values, contract types and your part in valuations, cost reports and final accounts. Add software and progress towards professional membership, and keep your CSCS card in the qualifications section if you visit site.