CITB LogoCITB (Construction Industry Training Board) oversees training courses and programmes for the construction industry throughout England, Wales and Scotland. CITB courses are widely accepted as the standard for health and safety training for the construction and civil engineering industries. However, before you choose your CITB course you may have a few questions.

  1. 1. What CITB training courses do you offer?

At Boss Training we offer the 3 most popular CITB training courses:

 

2. Are the CITB courses difficult?

The difficulty of the course depends on which course you choose to take.

The 1 Day Health & Safety Awareness course consists of 25 multiple choice questions, 20 questions are worth 1 mark and 5 questions are worth 2 marks each. To pass this course, you must achieve at least 25 marks out of 30 (83%).

CITB Site Supervisor and Site Manager course contents are designed to be more challenging but with the aid of our extremely knowledgeable instructors and the revision aids provided from the CITB the courses should be passable for all delegates.

The Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme 2 Day (SSSTS) course examination consists of:

  • 25 questions: 22 multiple choice questions and 3 short written questions and answers.
  • There are 4 safety critical questions at the beginning of the question paper that must be answered correctly to pass the course.
  • The pass mark is 80%.

Finally, you must pass a trainer review, the instructor will look at 3 things:

  1. 1. Your overall performance in group activities
  2. 2. Have you actively engaged with the course?
  3. 3. Have you completed the toolbox talk?

All three elements will be either a pass (yes) or fail (no) and all three elements will need to achieve a pass for you to pass this element of the course.

The Site Manager Safety Training Scheme 5 Day (SMSTS) course is a lot more in-depth and to pass this course you must:

  • Complete all four core exercises
  • Pass the trainer review
  • Pass the end of course exam.

The paper consists of 25 questions, selected by CITB, covering all aspects of the course.

Each exam paper has:

  • 18 multiple-choice questions (each worth one mark)
  • 7 questions in multi-response or short written answer format (each worth two marks)

The exam pass mark is 81% (26 out of 32).

The success rates for delegates passing these courses the first time are:

  • 1 Day Health & Safety Awareness – 99%
  • SSSTS 2 Day – 97%
  • SSSTS Refresher – 99%
  • SMSTS 5 Day – 95%
  • SMSTS Refresher – 99%

 

3. What do I need to have to apply for the green CSCS Labourers card?

To apply for the green CSCS Labourers card, you must pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test sometimes known as the CITB Touchscreen Test. You must also hold one of the following qualifications:

  • A CSCS approved alternative qualification e.g. the CITB 1 Day Health & Safety Awareness course. For a full list of alternatives please see the following: https://www.cscs.uk.com/alternatives-to-the-level-1-award/
  • RQF Level 1/SCQF Level 4 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment.
  • SCQF Level 5 REHIS Elementary Health and Safety Certificate.
  • NOCN/CSkills Awards Construction Health and Safety (F/618/0738) unit

 

4. Can these courses be taken online?

Since the COVID pandemic, CITB introduced virtual training meaning that you can now take the 1 Day Health & Safety Awareness, SSSTS & Refresher and SMSTS & Refresher courses remotely without having to attend in-person. These courses are completed through either ZOOM or Microsoft Teams meetings with a CITB approved instructor.

 

5. Should I do the SSSTS or SMSTS course?

To decide which of the two courses is right for you depends on what your role is.

If you are responsible for supervising sites or a team leader in the construction and civil engineering industry then the SSSTS 2-day course will be more suitable.

This course will help you to:

  • Supervise health and safety in accordance with current legislation on-site and help develop your understanding of responsibility and accountability of health, safety and welfare of your workers on site.
  • Recognise that a safe site is economical, environmentally friendly, productive and efficient.

The SMSTS 5-day course is perfect for you if you are in a managerial role such as Site Manager or Project Leader or if you are looking at advancing your supervisor skill set to include management.

This course will teach you to:

  • Implement and manage health, safety and environmental aspects on site in line with current legal legislation.
  • Implement new industry best practices and guidance.
  • Plan work so that the risks involved are managed from the start to the end of a project.
  • How to prevent accidents from occurring on site.

 

6. Are there any entry requirements for CITB courses?

The only entry requirement for the Health & Safety Awareness course is that you must be competent in English so that you can fully understand the course material. This course is suitable for all ability levels.

CITB states that you should either hold or be about to hold the role of supervisor and you must be competent in English at a supervisor level, in order for you to be suitable for the SSSTS training course.

The SMSTS 5 Day course has no formal entry requirements but it is recommended you have previous health and safety knowledge, for you to be successful on this course. If you do not have previous knowledge it is beneficial to sit the SSSTS two-day course before the SMSTS. You should also hold or be about to hold the role of site manager, with a good level of competency in written and spoken English.

 

7. Do I have to take the full CITB SSSTS or SMSTS course again to renew my certification? 

If your current SSSTS or SMSTS certification is coming up for renewal, you don’t have to sit the full 2 Day or 5 Day courses again. Instead, you can attend a CITB SSSTS Refresher 1 Day course or a CITB SMSTS Refresher 2 Day course and this will renew your certification for another 5 years.

 

8. Can I still do a refresher if my certificate has expired?

Unfortunately not, you can only attend an SSSTS 1 Day Refresher or an SMSTS 2 Day Refresher course while your current certification is still valid. If your certification lapses, you will need to attend the full course again.

 

If you have any questions or require more information please contact a member of the Boss Training team on 01422 358184 or send an email to enquiries@bosstraining.co.uk who will be happy to help.