SSSTS or SMSTS: Which One Does Your Supervisor Need?

SSSTS is CITB's two-day safety course for site supervisors. SMSTS is its five-day course for site managers. If the person runs a gang, a trade or one area of the job, SSSTS fits. If they plan the work and answer for the whole site, SMSTS fits. Both certificates last five years, and both courses can be done in a classroom or remotely. CSCS says neither one counts towards a CSCS card.

So pick the course for the job the person does on this site, not the title on their contract. Then put the expiry date in the diary. CITB only lets people with an in-date certificate onto the shorter refresher. Miss the date and it's the full course again, and CITB says that can't be appealed.

What is SSSTS?

SSSTS stands for Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme. It's part of CITB's Site Safety Plus suite, and it's built for people who already supervise others on site, or are about to start. There's no formal entry requirement.

It runs over two days and 15 hours, with the exam counted and breaks not. Delegates have to attend all of it. A day two missed through illness can be made up on another course within 30 days, but missing part of day one means starting again.

CITB's Site Safety Plus scheme rules set out how it's assessed, and passing takes three things. The delegate completes the mandatory workbook exercises, passes a trainer review, then passes the exam. The trainer review checks that they joined in properly, and on SSSTS it also means preparing and delivering a toolbox talk of about five minutes. Fail the review and you can't sit the exam.

The exam is 30 minutes long, with 25 questions worth 30 marks. The pass mark is 80%, which is 24 marks. The SSSTS workbook can be opened for the last 10 minutes only. Score 21 to 23 and there's one resit, on the day or within 30 days. Below 21 means the whole course again.

The refresher, SSSTS-R, is one day of at least seven and a half hours. It has its own exam with the same 80% pass mark, and a trainer review, but no toolbox talk.

What is SMSTS?

SMSTS is the Site Management Safety Training Scheme. CITB aims it at anyone who has, or is taking on, responsibility for planning, organising, monitoring and controlling groups of staff, such as a site manager.

It's five days and at least 37 and a half hours, but it doesn't have to be a straight week. CITB allows day release, one or two days a week over up to five weeks, which helps when you can't spare a manager for five days running.

To pass, delegates finish four core exercises, pass a trainer review and pass the exam. The paper has 25 questions worth 32 marks. Seven of them are worth two marks each and need written or multi-response answers. Those seven all come from CITB's seven health and safety focus areas, such as working at height, asbestos and dust.

The exam lasts 35 minutes and the pass mark is 81%, or 26 out of 32. Delegates can use the course workbook and CITB's site safety reference book for the last 15 minutes. A score of 23 to 25 earns one resit. Anything lower, or a failed resit, means the full five days again.

The refresher, SMSTS-R, is two days. It's assessed by the exam alone, to the same 81% pass mark, with no trainer review.

SSSTS and SMSTS side by side

	SSSTS	SMSTS
Who it's for	People who supervise others, or are about to start	People who plan, organise, monitor and control staff, such as site managers
Length	2 days, 15 hours	5 days, at least 37.5 hours, or day release over up to 5 weeks
Where	Classroom or remote	Classroom or remote
Entry requirements	None formal	None formal, SSSTS recommended if you're new to safety management
How it's assessed	Workbook exercises, trainer review with a toolbox talk, 30-minute exam	Four core exercises, trainer review, 35-minute exam
Pass mark	80% (24 of 30)	81% (26 of 32)
Valid for	Five years	Five years
Refresher	SSSTS-R, 1 day, taken before expiry	SMSTS-R, 2 days, taken before expiry

From CITB's course pages and Site Safety Plus scheme rules, accurate as of October 2026.

For most firms the choice comes down to who answers for the whole site, because that's the person SMSTS is built for.

Do you need SSSTS before SMSTS?

No. CITB sets no formal entry requirements for SMSTS. It does recommend SSSTS first for anyone without previous health and safety management experience, and its scheme rules call SMSTS the natural progression from SSSTS.

So a supervisor stepping up to run their first site will usually get more from doing them in order, while a manager who has already run safety on other jobs can go straight to SMSTS.

Book the refresher before the certificate runs out

CITB's scheme rules put the job of keeping a certificate current on the delegate. The refresher is only open to someone holding an in-date certificate, and the rules allow no grace period. Without an in-date certificate, it's the full course again.

For an employer, a lapse turns one day into two for a supervisor, and two days into five for a manager. The refresher has to be taken before the date, not just booked.

The certificate also belongs to the person, not the company, and CITB's rules say employers must be told that. If you pay for a supervisor's SSSTS and they move on, it goes with them. CITB's check a card service shows someone's Site Safety Plus results, using two details that include their CITB ID or National Insurance number.

SSSTS, SMSTS and CSCS cards

Neither course is an NVQ. CSCS's guidance on SMSTS and SSSTS calls them health and safety courses that aren't occupational or competence based, and says neither is accepted as part of a card application or in place of the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test.

The supervisor and manager cards need a qualification for the role. For the Gold Supervisor card, CSCS wants a Level 3 or 4 qualification in construction supervision or a technical subject, as an NVQ or SVQ. For the Black Manager card, it wants a management or technical one. The CSCS black card guide explains which levels count and where CSCS's own pages disagree.

So when a site asks for "SSSTS and a gold card", that's two separate things. One shows safety training and the other shows a qualification for the job. The site supervisor vs site manager guide sets out which card goes with which role.

Which one your business needs

Neither course is named in CDM 2015. The law puts duties on companies instead. Regulation 15 says every contractor must give its workers appropriate supervision, and must not appoint anyone to work on site unless they have, or are getting, the skills, knowledge, training and experience for their tasks. Regulation 13 says the principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase.

Training is only one part of that. CITB's own SSSTS rules say attending the course doesn't make someone a competent supervisor. Competence comes from education, training and experience together, judged by someone senior.

What principal contractors ask for varies. CITB's SMSTS scheme rules say Build UK endorses the course as the standard training for all construction managers, and CITB says SSSTS goes beyond its own standard for supervisor training. Anything more sits in the contractor's site rules or tender, so put these questions to them before you book.

• Which course do you need for supervisors, and which for the site manager?
• Will you accept an equivalent, and which ones?
• Does the certificate need to stay in date for the whole job, or only on the start date?
• How many people in each gang or area need to hold it?
• Will you check certificates with CITB, or do you want copies?
• Which CSCS card do you expect for each role?

Get the answers in writing before you send anyone on five days when the job needed two.

The card takes longer than the course

A safety course is five days at most. The qualification behind a manager's card takes longer, so start it early. For site managers chasing the Black Manager card, our course is the NVQ Level 6 Construction Site Management. It's assessed by portfolio, with an assessor supporting you and recorded discussions for the knowledge units. Completing it lets you apply to CSCS, which makes the final decision on the card.

Book the safety course for the duty the person carries. Book the refresher before the five years are up.

Frequently asked questions