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The SSSTS course is CITB’s two-day Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme for anyone who supervises, or is about to supervise, work on a construction site. You attend both full days, finish with a 30-minute exam, and if you pass you get a CITB certificate that is valid for five years.
That is the short version. Below is what actually happens over those two days, how the exam works, and what you need to do to keep the certificate live. It is the kind of thing we get asked every week, so here it is in one place.
What is CITB SSSTS?
SSSTS sits within CITB’s Site Safety Plus scheme. It is not about turning you into a health and safety adviser. It is about giving a supervisor enough understanding of the law, risk and people to run a safe section of site day to day.
CITB’s scheme rules set out three aims. By the end, a supervisor should be able to supervise health and safety on site in line with current law and within the limits of their role, understand their responsibility and accountability for the health, safety and welfare of the workers around them, and recognise that a safe site is also an efficient, productive and environmentally friendly one.
Who needs SSSTS training?
CITB describes it as being for people who have, or are about to have, supervisory responsibilities. In practice that means working supervisors, chargehands, gangers, foremen and experienced trades who are being asked to look after a team. There are no formal entry requirements, although CITB recommends some existing health and safety knowledge, and it helps if you are already in, or stepping into, a supervisory role so the examples make sense.
Many principal contractors ask for it before they will let someone supervise on their sites, so it is often the first thing a new supervisor is sent on. You can see our upcoming dates on the CITB SSSTS course page.
What the SSSTS course covers over the two days
Under the scheme rules this is a two-day course of 15 hours, including the exam. You must attend both full days to be eligible for a certificate. Miss part of a day and you cannot be certificated, so plan your site cover before you book.
CITB lists the content as:
- The legislation that affects safe working on site, and what it means for a supervisor
- Putting risk assessments into practice and making sure control measures actually happen
- Communicating in a way that keeps a health and safety culture going
- Leadership, and the effect a supervisor’s behaviour has on the site
- Embedding positive behaviours and promoting health, safety and welfare
- Legal compliance and management systems
- Identifying and managing risk, including occupational health and worker wellbeing
- Supervising high-risk work
- Environmental management and sustainable working
It is not two days of slides. The scheme rules require a practical exercise built around at least one construction site drawing and a project linked to it, so you spend real time working through a site, spotting the hazards and deciding how you would supervise the work. That group work is where most people say the course clicks, because you hear how other supervisors deal with the same problems you face.
How the SSSTS assessment works
The exam comes at the end of the course. Here is how CITB’s current scheme rules set it out:
| Length | 30 minutes |
| Questions | 25: 22 multiple choice and 3 short written answers |
| Marks | 30 in total (multiple choice worth 1 mark each, written answers worth 1 to 3 marks) |
| Pass mark | 80% (24 out of 30) |
| Safety critical questions | 4 at the start of the paper, all must be answered correctly |
| Reference book | CITB’s Construction site supervision (GE706) may be used for the last 10 minutes |
The safety critical questions catch people out more than the pass mark does. You can score well overall and still not pass if you get one of those four wrong, so read them slowly.
There is a safety net. If you pass the trainer’s review and score 21 to 23 out of 30 with the safety critical questions correct, or you reach 80% but miss a safety critical question, you can resit the exam within 30 days. If you fail the resit, you have to do the full SSSTS course again.
Classroom or live online SSSTS
CITB allows SSSTS to be delivered in a classroom or by remote delivery. The content, attendance rule and exam are the same either way. For remote courses the scheme rules set a minimum of four and a maximum of 12 delegates, which keeps the online group small enough for proper discussion. Acadame runs SSSTS training as a two-day course in our classrooms and live online with a trainer, so you can pick whichever suits your site and travel.
How long does SSSTS last, and what is SSSTS-R?
Your SSSTS certificate is valid for five years. To stay certified, CITB says you need to either retake the full course or complete the one-day SSSTS Refresher (SSSTS-R) before the expiry date. A refresher certificate is then valid for another five years.
The refresher is open to people who have already completed the two-day SSSTS or a previous refresher. It revisits the law as it applies to supervisors, risk assessments and method statements, site inductions and toolbox talks, monitoring work, and stepping in quickly when you see unsafe practice.
The important bit is timing. If your certificate expires before you refresh, the route CITB describes is the full two-day course again. Put the expiry date in your diary now and book the refresher a few months ahead, especially if your employer needs to arrange cover.
SSSTS vs SMSTS in brief
SSSTS is the two-day course for supervisors running the work. SMSTS is CITB’s five-day course for people responsible for planning, organising, monitoring and controlling work and staff, such as site managers. Both certificates last five years. If you are unsure which fits your role, we have a separate article comparing the two in detail.
SSSTS and the CSCS Gold Supervisor card
SSSTS is a safety training certificate, not a CSCS card. The Gold Supervisor card is based on a construction-related supervisory or technical NVQ or SVQ qualification at Level 3 or 4, plus passing the CITB supervisory level Health, Safety and Environment test. Plenty of supervisors hold both, because contractors often ask for the card and SSSTS together.
SSSTS course FAQs
How long is the SSSTS course?
Two days, totalling 15 hours including the exam. You must attend both full days to be certificated.
Is the SSSTS exam hard?
If you take part properly over the two days, it is very manageable. The pass mark is 80% and the four safety critical questions must all be right. You can use the GE706 book for the final 10 minutes.
Can I do SSSTS online?
Yes. CITB allows remote delivery, and the course and exam standards are the same as in the classroom.
What happens if my SSSTS has expired?
The one-day SSSTS-R needs to be done before your expiry date. Once it has lapsed, CITB’s route is to retake the full two-day SSSTS course.
Training that covers this
- CITB Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS): two days, classroom or live online
- CITB SSSTS Refresher (SSSTS-R): one day, before your certificate expires
- CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS): for site managers
- CSCS Gold Supervisor card
- Book a CITB HS&E test
Read the source
- CITB: Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS)
- CITB Site Safety Plus scheme rules, Appendix C: SSSTS
- CITB: SSSTS Refresher (SSSTS-R)
- CSCS: Supervisory card
Upcoming CITB Site Safety dates
Straight from the booking system, so this block is never out of date.
Prices exclude VAT. Dates and places update automatically.
