CITB Site Safety Plus Courses
CITB — the Construction Industry Training Board — is the industry training board and awarding body for construction in Great Britain. Its Site Safety Plus scheme is the most widely recognised set of site safety qualifications in UK construction, and is routinely specified by principal contractors and clients as a condition of working on their sites.
The scheme is built around role rather than seniority. There is a course for operatives, one for supervisors, one for managers, and specialist courses for temporary works and environmental duties. Every Site Safety Plus certificate is valid for five years and renewed by a shorter refresher course — provided you renew before it expires.
Which CITB course do I need? It depends on your role on site. Health and Safety Awareness for operatives, SSSTS for supervisors, SMSTS for site managers. If you already hold one of the latter two and it is still in date, you need the refresher rather than the full course.
Check your expiry date first. There is no grace period on Site Safety Plus certificates. If yours has lapsed, even by a few days, you must retake the full course rather than the refresher — five days instead of two for SMSTS, or two instead of one for SSSTS.
CITB or CSCS? They are different things rather than alternatives. CITB Site Safety Plus courses are training qualifications; a CSCS card is proof of competence carried on site. Most CSCS card applications require you to pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test, and the card you can apply for depends on the qualifications you hold — so for many people the answer is both.
Core Site Safety Plus courses
The three main qualifications, aligned to role on site. All are available in classroom and live online instructor-led formats.
5 days — Site Management Safety Training Scheme
★ Most requested
The recognised qualification for site managers and those with full management responsibility for health and safety. Approved by BuildUK and commonly a contractual condition of employment. Valid five years, renewed by the two-day refresher.
2 days — Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme
✓ Supervisor level
For site supervisors, team leaders and first-line managers. Required by BuildUK for supervisors on their members’ sites, and the standard stepping stone before SMSTS. Valid five years, renewed by the one-day refresher.
1 day — operatives and new entrants
◆ Entry level
The starting point for anyone new to construction, covering the basics of site safety and each worker’s own responsibilities. Often taken as a route towards a CSCS card, and a useful foundation before progressing to SSSTS.
Directors Role for Health and Safety
Short course — directors and business owners
◆ Board level
Written for those setting direction rather than running sites day to day. Covers directors’ legal duties, personal liability and the decisions that shape safety performance across a business.
Specialist CITB courses
Temporary works, environmental and sector-specific qualifications within the Site Safety Plus scheme.
For those coordinating temporary works on site — falsework, formwork, propping and excavation support — and managing the procedures around them.
The supervisory counterpart to the Coordinator course, for those overseeing temporary works on the ground rather than coordinating the wider system.
SEATS — the Site Environmental Awareness Training Scheme — covers environmental duties, waste, pollution control and the legislation that applies on site. Increasingly requested as environmental responsibilities are written into contracts alongside safety ones.
TSTS, for those working in tunnelling and underground construction, where the hazards and controls differ substantially from surface work.
Preparation for the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test, which must be passed before applying for most CSCS cards.
Vocational qualifications assessed in the workplace, from Level 2 trades through to Level 6 and 7 site and senior management.
CITB Levy funding. Construction employers registered with the CITB Levy may be able to offset part of the course cost. From January 2026, short course funding moved from the old direct grant model to CITB Employer Networks.
Delegates should take their employer’s Levy Number to the course and enter it on the relevant section of the paperwork — retrospective claims may not be accepted, so it is worth confirming eligibility before booking rather than afterwards.
Training a team? SMSTS runs over five days and SSSTS over two, so sending people out one at a time adds up quickly in travel and time off site. Most CITB courses can be delivered at your premises or a venue near you, priced for the group rather than per person — and everyone’s certificate then expires on the same date, which makes the next renewal round far easier to plan. See on-site training for groups.
How CITB courses are delivered
Face to face at training centres across the UK. Available as a block week, day release or spread across weekends, depending on the provider.
Live tutor-led sessions by video conferencing, leading to the same CITB certificate. Note the exam requires a private room, photo ID and webcam on throughout.
A note on e-learning. Site Safety Plus courses are not available as self-paced e-learning. They are tutor-led, whether in a classroom or live online, because the assessment is invigilated. If a CITB course is advertised as fully self-paced, check carefully what certificate it actually leads to.
Find a CITB course near me
CITB Site Safety Plus courses run at accredited training centres across the UK, with SMSTS and SSSTS available in most major towns and cities. To find a CITB course near you, open the course you need from the sections above — each page lists live dates and venues, and lets you filter by county, town or postcode with a radius of your choosing.
If nothing suitable shows locally, it is worth widening the radius or considering the live online option, which is not tied to a venue and usually offers a wider choice of dates. That matters particularly if a certificate is close to expiry. Nothing showing at all? Contact us and we will let you know when something becomes available in your area.