Construction & Engineering Courses

Supervisors and gangers

SSSTS is the recognised step up for anyone taking responsibility for others on site, renewed every five years with the one-day refresher.

IOSH Working Safely suits supervisors working outside the CITB scheme, or alongside it in mixed-sector businesses.

Site managers and agents

SMSTS is the standard for site managers, agents and project managers, again on a five-year cycle. The refresher is only available before expiry — let it lapse and it is the full five days again.

IOSH Managing Safely and NEBOSH suit those building a health and safety career rather than managing a site.

Plant and access operators

Card-based training tied to the specific machine: CPCS and NPORS for plant, IPAF for powered access, PASMA for mobile towers, and forklift and telehandler categories.

Cards are category-specific. Holding one machine category does not authorise another, so check the category codes against the plant you actually operate.

Engineering construction

The CCNSG Safety Passport is required for access to most engineering construction and process industry sites — refineries, power stations, chemical plants.

It is a separate scheme from CITB Site Safety Plus. Holding SMSTS or SSSTS does not cover it, and a surprising number of people find that out at the gate.

Competence is evidenced separately too. ECITB qualifications are the engineering construction equivalent of a Construction NVQ.

Evidencing competence

Training demonstrates knowledge. Construction NVQs evidence competence through assessment of your actual work, and are what most blue, gold and black CSCS cards require.

Levels run from 2 for operatives through to 6 and 7 for senior managers. There is no exam — you build a portfolio while doing the job.

Plant, equipment and machinery

Safe selection, operation and inspection of plant and access equipment: CPCS, NPORS, forklift and telehandler, PASMA, IPAF, harness use and welding and fabrication.

Most of these carry expiry dates of their own, typically three to five years, and renewals are usually shorter than the initial course if taken in time.

Site management and planning

Beyond SMSTS, the roles that carry specific statutory duties: Temporary Works Coordinator and Temporary Works Supervisor, CDM Regulations and CITB SEATS.

Temporary works in particular is where duties are often assumed rather than assigned. The role has to be appointed in writing.

NVQ qualifications

Construction NVQs from Level 2 through Level 7 are work-based and assessed on site rather than by examination, which makes them suitable for experienced people with no formal qualification.

Timescales depend on how quickly you gather evidence and how often the assessor visits, so plan around months rather than weeks if a card deadline is involved.

ECITB and engineering construction

ECITB training courses serve power generation, oil and gas, chemicals, nuclear and process plant. Site access runs on the CCNSG Safety Passport, a two-day course with a card valid for three years, renewed by a one-day course before it expires.

Supervisors add Leading a Team Safely on top of the passport. Trades evidence competence through ECITB diplomas in erecting steelwork, erecting and rigging, assessed in the workplace with no exam.