What is the SMSTS Course?
The Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is a five-day CITB-accredited qualification for anyone responsible for managing health and safety on a UK construction site. It is delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) through approved training organisations and is widely regarded as the industry standard for site managers across all sectors of construction.
The SMSTS is not a CSCS card qualification — it is a site compliance certificate. Most principal contractors, including Tier-1 firms such as Barratt Homes, Willmott Dixon and Morgan Sindall, require all site managers and project managers to hold a valid SMSTS certificate as a condition of working on their sites.
Who Needs the SMSTS?
- Site managers and project managers
- Site agents and contracts managers
- Quantity surveyors with site responsibility
- Principal contractor representatives
- Proprietors of small and medium construction companies
What Does the SMSTS Cover?
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated regulations
- CDM Regulations 2015
- Risk assessment and method statements (RAMS)
- RIDDOR
- Occupational health and site welfare
- Working at height, excavations, confined spaces
- COSHH
- Fire prevention and emergency procedures
- Environmental management
- Site inductions and toolbox talks
Assessment is by multiple-choice test and written exercises throughout the five days. You must attend all five days to qualify.
SMSTS Certificate and Renewal
On passing, you receive the CITB Site Safety Plus SMSTS certificate, valid for five years. Before expiry, complete the two-day SMSTS Refresher to renew. If already expired, retake the full five-day course.
SMSTS Online vs Classroom
CITTC delivers SMSTS via live Zoom and at our Winsford, Cheshire training centre. Both formats use identical CITB-approved content and result in the same certificate.