CITB Health & Safety for Directors Course

Boardroom decisions carry real weight when it comes to workplace safety, and the CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course exists to make sure that weight is properly understood at the top. Aimed squarely at directors and senior managers, it builds a clear grasp of the human, legal and financial implications of getting health and safety wrong, along with the tools to drive a genuinely proactive safety culture from the top down.

Where the IOSH Managing Safely Course focuses on day-to-day operational risk management, this course sits a level higher, dealing with boardroom accountability and the personal liability directors carry when things go wrong. It draws directly on the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and related legislation, giving directors a working understanding of exactly where their legal responsibility begins and ends.

Many organisations pair this course with the Risk Assessment Online Course for middle managers, ensuring the risk assessment principles discussed at director level are properly reflected in how risk gets managed on the ground. It also works well alongside the Online CDM Regulation Awareness Course (Remote Learning) for anyone involved in construction projects specifically, since CDM duties often sit directly with client and principal contractor organisations at board level. For directors wanting a broader, more technical grounding in health and safety management, the NEBOSH National General Certificate is a natural next step once this course is complete, while those overseeing larger sites often look at the CITB SMSTS Course to make sure operational management reflects the same priorities set from the top.

Before attending, delegates must complete the CITB Pre-Course E-Learning and provide the resulting digital certificate at least 24 hours before the course starts, alongside a working knowledge of the key legislation the assessment draws on.

Candidates who successfully complete the CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course will gain knowledge and skills in:

• Moral and human costs, and the implications of decisions made in the boardroom
• The economic implications of an unsafe working environment
• Legal responsibilities with regard to health and safety
• The principles and importance of the risk assessment process
• Appointing competent health and safety assistance and understanding the limitations of such an appointment
• The basic tools for introducing a proactive health and safety culture

The CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course will cover the following topics:

• Introduction and course aims
• The director's legal duties
• The director's responsibilities
• Principles of risk assessments and the importance of the process
• Health and safety planning
• Financial implications of health and safety
• The non-prescriptive approach to legislation
• Recognising the need for competent health and safety assistance

Candidates are continuously assessed through classroom performance and case study-based questions throughout the CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course. The exam paper itself is split into two parts, with 10 questions based on the course content followed by 10 questions linked to a case study. A pass requires 80% (24 out of 30), and certification remains valid for five years.

The CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course is aimed at directors and senior managers, helping them recognise the human, economic and financial implications of non-compliance with health and safety legislation.

Delegates must meet the following requirements to attend the CITB Health and Safety for Directors Course:

• A good understanding of spoken and written English is necessary to attend and complete the course successfully
• Delegates must have either previously completed the course or hold a working knowledge of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, since the assessment requires these to be considered in the context of a director's role and responsibility
• Delegates must complete the CITB Pre-Course E-Learning and provide the resulting digital certificate at least 24 hours before the course starts