Remote SSSTS course: Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme

The SSSTS course is CITB's two-day site safety course for supervisors. We teach it live online on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, every weekend on Saturday and Sunday. You join from home or work, anywhere in the UK, with no travel.

SSSTS stands for Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme. It is part of CITB's Site Safety Plus scheme. When you pass, you get a CITB certificate that is valid for five years.

Who the SSSTS course is for

SSSTS is for people who supervise work on a construction site, or who will soon. For example:

• supervisors and foremen
• chargehands and team leaders
• trades people moving into a supervisor role

If you run a whole site, our SMSTS course for site managers may suit you better.

What you will cover

The course follows CITB's scheme of work. The topics include:

• your legal duties as a supervisor, and health and safety law
• risk assessments and method statements
• permits to work and site inspections
• occupational health and welfare on site
• high-risk work, plant and equipment
• looking after the environment on site
• leadership, communication and giving a toolbox talk

How the course is run and assessed

You join two full days of live online training on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, with your trainer and the rest of the group. CITB sets at least 15 hours of training and assessment, not counting breaks, and you must attend both full days.

You complete set exercises, take part in group work, and prepare and give a short toolbox talk. Your trainer reviews this work. At the end you sit a 30-minute exam of 25 questions. The pass mark is 80% (24 out of 30 marks). If you do not pass, you may re-sit the exam one more time.

Card and progression

SSSTS is a safety course, not an NVQ, so it does not get you a CSCS card on its own. A gold CSCS Supervisor card needs a Level 3 or Level 4 supervisory NVQ and the CITB Specialist Supervisory health, safety and environment test.

Many supervisors take SSSTS and then a Level 3 NVQ in Occupational Work Supervision or a Level 4 NVQ in Construction Site Supervision.

To keep your SSSTS in date, take the one-day SSSTS Refresher (SSSTS-R) before your certificate expires. If it expires first, you must take the full two-day course again.

Dates and how you join

We run SSSTS every weekend, Saturday and Sunday.

Where: Online, taught live on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. We send your joining link before the course starts.

Choose your weekend on our booking page.

Entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements. CITB says you should hold, or be about to take on, a supervisor role. Some health and safety knowledge helps. You need enough English to take part fully in the exercises, the group work and the toolbox talk.

Questions people ask

How long is the SSSTS course?

Two full days. We run it every weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, live online on Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

How long is an SSSTS certificate valid?

Five years. Take the one-day SSSTS Refresher before it expires to renew it.

What is the SSSTS pass mark?

80%, which is 24 out of 30 marks. The exam has 25 questions and lasts 30 minutes.

Does SSSTS get me a CSCS card?

Not on its own. A gold Supervisor card needs a Level 3 or Level 4 supervisory NVQ and the CITB Specialist Supervisory test.

What is the difference between SSSTS and SMSTS?

SSSTS is a two-day course for supervisors. SMSTS is a five-day course for site managers and goes into more depth.

Next step

Book a date for your SSSTS course, or phone 01322 743726. You can also email [email protected].