Top 10 Questions People Ask Before Booking a CITB Course

CITB courses carry more questions than most training people book. Part of that is the range, as the scheme covers everything from a one-day awareness course through to five days of site management. Part of it is that the rules around cards, certificates and renewal are genuinely not obvious.

Our customer services team takes the same questions week after week, and the answers rarely appear clearly on a provider website. So rather than describe the courses again, this guide sets out the ten questions people actually ask before they book, with a direct answer to each.

Prices quoted are typical UK ranges for classroom delivery and vary by provider, location and group size.

1. What does CITB stand for, and is it the same as CSCS?

CITB is the Construction Industry Training Board, the body that sets and awards the Site Safety Plus scheme. CSCS is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, which issues the cards people carry on site.

They are separate organisations doing different jobs, and this is the single most common confusion we see. A CITB course gives you a qualification. A CSCS card proves it, along with your trade competence. For the Green Labourer card you need the CITB Health and Safety Awareness course and the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test. Skilled and manager cards need a relevant NVQ plus the test.

2. Which CITB course does my role need?

The Site Safety Plus scheme runs as a progression rather than a set of alternatives. The right level is decided by what you are accountable for rather than by your job title.

3. How long does a CITB certificate last?

Five years across the Site Safety Plus range. That applies to the Health and Safety Awareness course, SSSTS and SMSTS alike.

Before the five years are up, SSSTS and SMSTS holders can sit a refresher rather than repeat the full course. The SSSTS refresher runs over one day and the SMSTS refresher over two. Both of which reset the certificate for another five years.

4. What happens if I let my certificate expire?

You go back to the full course. There is no grace period and no late refresher option once the five years have passed.

In practice that means a lapsed SMSTS costs five days rather than two, at roughly double the price. It’s worth setting a reminder a few months before the expiry date, particularly if you are tracking certificates across a team where the renewal dates all fall differently.

5. Can I do a CITB course online?

Several of them, yes. CITB approved remote delivery for the main Site Safety Plus courses, so SSSTS and SMSTS both run as live tutor-led sessions over video, with the same syllabus, the same assessment and the same certificate.

The distinction worth understanding is between online instructor-led and self-paced e-learning. Instructor-led means a real trainer and fixed dates. It’s not a course you work through in your own time. The attendance requirement is the same as it would be in a classroom.

6. Is there an exam, and what happens if I fail?

Every Site Safety Plus course ends in an assessment. The Health & Safety Awareness course ends in a 25-question multiple-choice exam. The pass mark is 25 out of 30 or 83 per cent. SSSTS and SMSTS both end in a written exam.

The SSSTS exam is 25 questions with an 80 per cent pass mark, and four of those questions are safety critical and must all be answered correctly. SMSTS follows a similar structure over a longer paper. If you don’t pass, most providers allow a resit, though it is usually charged separately. It’s worth asking what a resit costs before you book rather than after.

7. What does a CITB course cost?

Ranges for classroom delivery, which vary by provider and location:

Courses in London and the South East sit towards the upper end of these ranges. The same course in the North or Midlands often sits nearer the bottom.

8. Does the price include the certificate?

Usually, but this is the thing most worth checking rather than assuming. Registration with CITB and the certificate itself are normally included in an advertised price, and where they aren’t, they appear as a separate line at the point of booking.

The costs that more often sit outside the headline figure are resits and, on a five-day course, travel and accommodation, which can rival the course fee itself.

9. Do I need to do the CITB test as well?

If you are applying for a CSCS card, yes. The CITB health, safety and environment test is a separate touch screen test taken at an approved test centre. It’s not part of any course.

People regularly assume that passing SSSTS covers it. It doesn’t. The course and the test are separate requirements, and a card application generally needs both.

10. How far ahead should I book?

Two to three weeks for most courses, and longer for SMSTS. Five-day courses run less frequently than one day ones, and they fill earlier, particularly at venues outside the major cities.

If you are booking for a team, on-site delivery becomes more economical from around six delegates and removes the travel cost entirely. It’s worth comparing before you book six individual places.

Key Takeaways

• CITB awards the qualification. CSCS issues the card. They are different organisations and both are usually required.

• Site Safety Plus certificates last five years, and a refresher only works before the expiry date.

• SSSTS and SMSTS are both available as live online instructor-led courses with the same certificate.

• The CITB health, safety and environment test is separate from any course.

• Check what a resit costs at the point of booking rather than afterwards.

Browse accredited CITB site safety training at Easybook Training.