Course overview
Birmingham has spent the last decade as one of the busiest construction markets outside London, and the pipeline shows little sign of slowing. Between the ongoing HS2 works around Curzon Street, the tower cranes over the Paradise and Smithfield regeneration schemes, the steady flow of city-centre residential and build-to-rent blocks, and the commercial fit-out and refurbishment work keeping the wider West Midlands moving, there is a constant demand for people who can run a site safely and lawfully. Ask any principal contractor working across the region what they look for when they put a manager in charge of a project, and a current CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme certificate will be near the top of the list.
The SMSTS is the recognised five-day qualification for the people who plan, organise and manage construction work rather than supervise a single gang. If you are a site manager, project manager, agent or business owner accountable for how safely a job is delivered, this is the ticket that main contractors, local authorities and major developers across Birmingham expect you to hold before you set foot on site as the person in charge. Our course is delivered as a live online class over Zoom, so managers right across the city and the surrounding West Midlands can gain the qualification without losing a working week to travel.
This is a genuine tutor-led classroom experience delivered remotely. You are taught in real time by an experienced, CITB-approved trainer, you can ask questions and join the discussion as it happens, and you work through the same syllabus and the same assessment as a delegate sitting in a physical training room. The only difference is where you join from. For a working site manager in Birmingham, that usually means far less disruption to a live programme of works and no half-days written off sitting in traffic on the A38 or the Aston Expressway.
Skills Training Group is a CITB-approved training organisation, and the SMSTS is one of the core Site Safety Plus courses we run week in, week out. The construction picture across Birmingham is varied enough that the managers who join us come from very different backgrounds: someone running a high-rise residential block near the city centre faces a different set of daily risks to someone managing a highways or utilities job out towards the M6 corridor, or a fit-out contractor working inside an occupied commercial building. The course is built around the legal framework and the management principles that apply across all of that work, so whatever type of site you run, you leave able to apply the same structured approach to keeping people safe.
Who the SMSTS course is for
The SMSTS is aimed squarely at the people responsible for managing construction activity across a whole project, not just supervising one team. If you plan the work, coordinate trades, control the site and answer for how safely everything is carried out, this is the course written for your role. It suits:
- Site managers and site agents running construction projects
- Project managers with responsibility for health and safety on site
- Experienced site supervisors stepping up into a management role
- Business owners and directors overseeing their own construction sites
- Contracts managers and senior technical staff accountable for safe delivery
- Anyone a principal contractor expects to hold a management-level safety qualification
It is equally relevant whether you have years of management experience behind you or you are moving up from a supervisory role for the first time. Experienced managers use the course to refresh their knowledge and get up to date with current regulations and best practice, while those newer to running a site value the structured grounding in the law and the practical tools it gives them. Many delegates book the SMSTS because a principal contractor or client has made it a condition of taking charge of a project, and across Birmingham it has become the qualification that opens the door to site management work.
If your role is to plan, organise and oversee the day-to-day work of a single team rather than manage the whole project, the two-day SSSTS (Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme) is likely to be the more appropriate qualification. The SMSTS is the five-day scheme pitched at management level, and for anyone running a Birmingham site it is the standard credential to hold.
What you will learn
Over five days your trainer works through the health and safety knowledge and legal responsibilities a site manager is expected to apply every day. The emphasis is practical throughout: not law for its own sake, but understanding your duties well enough to act on them with confidence on a live site. In summary, the course covers:
- The Health and Safety at Work Act and the key regulations that flow from it
- The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and the manager’s duties under CDM
- Producing, reviewing and acting on risk assessments and method statements
- Behavioural safety and building a positive safety culture across the site
- Managing occupational health, wellbeing and welfare arrangements
- High-risk activities including working at height, excavations, confined spaces and temporary works
- Scaffolding, demolition, electrical safety and the manager’s inspection responsibilities
- Keeping up with current best practice and changes to construction safety standards
The sessions are interactive by design. You take part in discussion, work through realistic site scenarios and test your understanding as you go, so the learning connects to the kind of situations you actually meet managing work across Birmingham and the West Midlands rather than staying abstract. A detailed module-by-module breakdown is set out separately on this page.
The thread running through all of it is the site manager’s legal position. As the person in charge you carry real responsibilities under health and safety law, and the course is designed to make sure you understand exactly what those are and how to discharge them. That covers the paperwork side, such as reviewing risk assessments and method statements and keeping proper records, but just as importantly it covers the day-to-day management side: how you plan work so it can be done safely, how you brief and monitor the people carrying it out, and how you respond when something on site is not right. By the end of the five days you should be able to look at your own project and see clearly where your duties lie and what good practice looks like in each area.
How the course runs
The SMSTS is a five-day course delivered live online over Zoom. It runs across five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. Attending all five days in full is part of achieving the qualification, so it is worth blocking the week out and letting your site team know you will be off the tools while you train.
You join the virtual classroom through a secure video link. Your trainer teaches live, shares materials on screen, sets group tasks and takes questions throughout, exactly as they would in a physical room. Because it is delivered in real time rather than as a recorded course, you get the back-and-forth that makes the difference on a management course: the chance to talk through how a regulation applies to your own project, or how you would handle a particular situation on your Birmingham site. Delegates from across the city and the wider region all join the same class on equal footing.
To take part you need a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam and a microphone or headset, and a reasonably stable internet connection. A tablet can work at a push, but a laptop or desktop is strongly recommended for a five-day course where you will be reading materials and taking part in written exercises. If you have ever joined a video call for work, you already have everything you need. We send clear joining instructions in advance, and our team is on hand to help you test your setup before the first morning so nothing eats into your training time. Getting connected on day one usually takes only a couple of minutes: click your link, check your camera and microphone, and you are ready to begin.
Because you attend from wherever suits you, the course fits far more easily around a live job than a week away at a venue would. Managers running sites in Digbeth, Edgbaston, Perry Barr or out in Solihull can be back in touch with their team at lunch and at the end of each day without a commute eating into their time. It is the same intensive five days of learning, delivered in a way that keeps you close to the work you are responsible for.
Assessment and exam
To achieve the SMSTS qualification you need to attend all five days, take part in the discussions and exercises, and pass the end-of-course examination. The exam is made up of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions, lasts approximately 30 minutes, and carries a pass mark of 81%.
The interactive way the course is taught is designed to prepare you for that assessment rather than spring it on you, which is reflected in our 98.7% SMSTS pass rate. To help you feel ready, we also provide a free practice test you can work through in your own time before the course. You can try the SMSTS mock test as many times as you like to get a feel for the style of the questions and check where you might want to focus your revision.
Why train online from Birmingham
Birmingham and the wider West Midlands remain one of the most active construction regions in the country, with sustained demand for competent, qualified site managers across residential, commercial, infrastructure and fit-out work. That demand means managers often cannot easily afford a full week away from a live job to travel to and from a training venue.
Delivering the SMSTS as a live online class removes that problem entirely. There is no physical training centre to get to and no local classroom to sit in. You get the same nationally recognised CITB qualification, taught by the same calibre of approved trainer, without the cost and lost time of travelling across the city or beyond. A manager in Erdington, Selly Oak or Sutton Coldfield, or out towards Solihull, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley or Coventry, all join the same virtual classroom on equal terms. There is no advantage to being near a particular building, because the classroom comes to you. You save on travel, parking and hotel costs, and you gain exactly the same official SMSTS certificate at the end of it.
It is also a straightforward way for an employer to keep a management team’s tickets in date. Rather than releasing managers one at a time to travel out of the region, you can book people onto live online dates that fit around the programme of works, keeping your Birmingham sites moving while your people get certified. For contractors juggling several projects across the West Midlands at once, being able to schedule training without pulling a manager off site for travel makes a real difference to how the programme runs.
There is a common worry that an online course must somehow be a watered-down version of the classroom. It is not. The syllabus, the trainer, the exam and the certificate are all identical. What you lose is the travel, the parking and the overnight stays; what you keep is every part of the qualification. For most working managers in Birmingham, that makes live online the more practical and cost-effective way to get, or renew, an SMSTS.
Certification and five-year validity
On successful completion you receive the official CITB SMSTS certificate, which is recognised across the UK construction industry as the standard management-level safety qualification. It is exactly the same certificate you would earn in a physical classroom, and it is widely required for site management, project management and senior technical roles on projects throughout Birmingham and the country as a whole.
The certificate is valid for five years. To keep it in date you complete the two-day SMSTS refresher course before it expires, rather than sitting the full five-day course again. It is worth diarising the renewal well in advance, because letting the certificate lapse means going back to the full course. We can help you plan the timing so your ticket stays current without any gap that might keep you off site.
CITB grant funding
The SMSTS is a CITB Site Safety Plus course, which means eligible employers may be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost of the training. If your business is registered with the CITB Levy, it is well worth checking what you can claim back before you book, as it can significantly reduce the net cost of getting your managers qualified. Grant payments are handled directly by CITB following successful completion of the course, and our team can point you in the right direction if you are unsure whether your company qualifies.
How to book
Booking is straightforward. The live online SMSTS course is £430 per delegate. Choose an upcoming date that fits around your work, reserve your place, and you will receive your joining instructions and course materials ahead of the start. You can book online at any time through our SMSTS booking page, or call our team on 0808 164 2780 if you would prefer to talk it through first.
If you are arranging training for several managers, or you want advice on whether the SMSTS or the two-day SSSTS is the right fit for a particular role, get in touch before you commit and we will make sure you book the right people onto the right course. You can also find upcoming dates and full course details on the main CITB SMSTS course page.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the SMSTS course and when does it run?
The SMSTS is a five-day course. It runs live online over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. You need to attend all five days in full to achieve the qualification, so it is best to block the whole week out before you book.
Do I need to travel to a training centre in Birmingham?
No. There is no physical venue for this course. It is delivered live online over Zoom, so you join from home, your site office or anywhere with a suitable device and a reliable internet connection. That means managers from across Birmingham and the West Midlands can qualify without travelling anywhere or losing time to parking and commuting.
Is the online SMSTS the same qualification as a classroom course?
Yes. Whether you attend live online or in a physical classroom, you follow the same CITB syllabus, sit the same assessment and receive the same official SMSTS certificate. It is recognised across the UK construction industry in exactly the same way, and contractors working in Birmingham treat it identically.
How much does the SMSTS course cost?
The live online SMSTS course is £430 per delegate. If your company is registered with the CITB Levy, you may be able to claim a CITB grant towards that cost, which can bring the net price down. Get in touch if you would like help checking whether your business is eligible.
What does the SMSTS exam involve?
The exam is a mix of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions. It takes around 30 minutes and the pass mark is 81%. To help you prepare, we provide a free SMSTS mock test you can work through as many times as you like before the course. Our SMSTS pass rate is 98.7%.
What is the difference between the SMSTS and the SSSTS?
The SMSTS is the five-day course for site managers, project managers and others who plan and manage construction work across a whole project. The two-day SSSTS is aimed at supervisors and first-line managers who oversee a single team on site. If you are stepping into a management role on a Birmingham project, the SMSTS is the qualification you need; if you are supervising a gang, the SSSTS is usually the right starting point.
How long is the SMSTS certificate valid and how do I renew it?
The certificate is valid for five years. To keep it in date you complete the two-day SMSTS refresher course before it expires, rather than sitting the full five-day course again. It is worth booking the refresher in good time, as letting the certificate lapse means starting over with the full course.
Ready to get qualified? Book your live online SMSTS course today through our SMSTS booking page, or call our team on 0808 164 2780 for help with dates, CITB grant funding or group bookings for your Birmingham site. Gain the industry-recognised qualification that main contractors across the West Midlands expect their site managers to hold, without leaving your desk or your site.
Modules breakdown
Across the five days, your tutor works through the full CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme syllabus, blending live teaching with group discussions, case studies and daily knowledge checks. Every module is taught with the site manager’s responsibilities in mind, covering the following key areas:
Health and safety legislation
- Health and Safety at Work Act fundamentals and their implications for construction
- Environmental legislation affecting construction sites
- Recent developments and new guidance in safety regulations
- Responsibilities under relevant legislation, and industry best practice beyond the legal minimum
Risk management
- Conducting thorough risk assessments and implementing the necessary control measures
- Ensuring safe working practices across different site activities
- Managing common safety issues on construction sites
- Creating systems for continual safety awareness
Leadership and communication
- Developing a positive safety culture on site
- Techniques for communicating safety protocols effectively
- Engaging the workforce in health and safety initiatives
- Managing subcontractors and supporting site supervisors in their safety responsibilities
Practical site management
- Day-to-day safety management techniques
- Responding to incidents and near misses
- Documentation and record-keeping requirements
- Site inspections, audits, toolbox talks and safety briefings
Special site hazards
- Working at height safety protocols
- Plant and equipment safety
- Excavation and groundworks safety
- Managing hazardous substances
- Electrical safety on construction sites
You attend all five training days, take part in the group activities and knowledge checks, then sit the final exam. On passing, you receive the official CITB SMSTS certificate, valid for five years, which you keep current with the two-day SMSTS Refresher Course before it expires. If you supervise rather than manage a site, the two-day SSSTS course may be the better fit – our team can help you choose.
Excellent
