Course overview
If you manage a construction site in Hull, or you are about to step up into a role where the whole site is your responsibility, the CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is the qualification principal contractors will expect to see. Our SMSTS course for Hull is delivered over five days as a live online class via Zoom, taught in real time by an experienced, CITB-approved construction trainer. You get the same official CITB certificate as a classroom course, without giving up a week to travel across East Yorkshire to a training room, and you can book your place today for £430.
There is plenty of work in and around Hull that calls for qualified site management. Housebuilding continues on the northern edge of the city around Kingswood and across the East Riding commuter towns, while regeneration work in the city centre, the Old Town and the Fruit Market keeps refurbishment and fit-out contractors busy. Along the Humber, port-side development, energy and renewables projects, and industrial work on both banks of the estuary generate a steady pipeline of civil engineering and heavy construction. Add major infrastructure schemes on the A63 corridor into the city and the picture is clear: contractors working in Hull need managers who can plan, organise, monitor and control site activity safely, and who can prove it with a recognised card.
That proof is the SMSTS. It is the standard management-level health and safety qualification across the UK construction industry, and on many Hull sites it is a contractual requirement before you can act as site manager. Whether you run projects in the city itself or manage jobs across the wider Humber region, from Beverley and Cottingham out to Goole, Bridlington and Driffield, this course gives you the legal knowledge, the practical risk-management skills and the certificate to do the job properly.
Who the SMSTS course is for
The SMSTS is aimed at the people who carry overall responsibility for a construction site, rather than those supervising a single gang or trade. It is the right course for you if you are a:
- Site manager or project manager responsible for planning and controlling construction work
- Site agent or senior site supervisor moving up into a management position
- Business owner or director who oversees construction sites and carries the legal duties that come with that
- Experienced supervisor in Hull or East Yorkshire who has been asked to hold SMSTS before taking charge of a project
- Construction professional who wants to formalise existing site management experience with a recognised CITB qualification
If your role is first-line supervision, leading a team or a trade on site rather than managing the whole project, the two-day SSSTS (Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme) is usually the better fit. SMSTS sits above it at management level. Plenty of delegates from the Hull area take SSSTS first and progress to SMSTS as their responsibilities grow, but there is no requirement to do so; you can come straight onto the SMSTS if your role justifies it. If you are not sure which course matches your job, call us on 0808 164 2780 and we will talk it through honestly before you book.
Ideally you will have some experience of working on construction sites before you attend. The course assumes a working familiarity with how sites operate, and the discussions are far more valuable when you can relate them to jobs you have actually run or worked on, whether that is a housing development in the East Riding, a commercial fit-out in Hull city centre or civils work along the Humber bank.
What you’ll learn
Over the five days, your trainer works through everything a site manager needs to run a safe, legally compliant site. Rather than list every module here (a full modules breakdown appears further down this page), it is worth understanding the shape of the course.
The backbone is health and safety law: the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, and the specific duties they place on you as the person in control of a site. You will learn what the law actually requires of a site manager, where personal liability begins and ends, and what enforcement action looks like when things go wrong.
From there the course moves into practical risk management: producing and reviewing risk assessments and method statements, planning high-risk activities such as work at height, excavations, demolition, confined spaces and temporary works, and managing occupational health risks like dust, noise and vibration that construction workers face every day. You will also spend time on the human side of the job, including behavioural safety, building a positive safety culture, running effective inductions and toolbox talks, and managing subcontractors, because on a real site in Hull or anywhere else, safety stands or falls on how well people communicate.
Throughout, the emphasis is on application rather than theory for its own sake. Your trainer will use real examples from UK projects, and you will work through scenarios and group exercises with the other delegates on your course, many of whom manage sites facing exactly the same pressures you deal with.
How the course runs
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. Attendance on all five days is mandatory: CITB rules require full attendance, so you cannot miss a day and catch up later. It is a full week and a genuine commitment, which is exactly why the certificate carries the weight it does with employers.
Our delivery is live online via Zoom. This is not a set of pre-recorded videos or a self-paced e-learning package. You join a real class at 8:30 each morning, taught in real time by a CITB-approved trainer with hands-on construction management experience. You can ask questions as they occur to you, take part in discussions and group exercises with the other delegates, and raise situations from your own sites, just as you would in a physical classroom. The course is interactive by design, and the trainer will expect you to contribute.
To take part from Hull you will need a reliable internet connection and a suitable device, ideally a laptop or desktop computer with a webcam and microphone so you can be seen and heard in the sessions. A quiet space where you can concentrate for the week makes a real difference, whether that is a home office, a site cabin with a decent connection or a meeting room at your company’s premises. Joining instructions are sent before the course starts, and our team is on hand to help if you have any technical questions about getting set up.
Because the course and its assessment are delivered entirely in English, you will need a good standard of spoken and written English to participate fully and to complete the written elements of the exam. If you have any concerns on this point, contact us before booking and we will advise.
Assessment and the SMSTS exam
The SMSTS is assessed properly, which is part of why the certificate is trusted. To pass, you need to attend all five days, take part in the course activities and exercises, and then sit the end-of-course examination.
The exam consists of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions, and lasts approximately 30 minutes. The pass mark is 81%, so there is little room for guesswork; you need to know the material. The good news is that the course is structured to get you there. Knowledge is built and checked steadily across the week rather than crammed at the end, and your trainer will make sure you know what to expect before you sit the paper. Our delegates achieve a 98.7% pass rate on the SMSTS, which reflects both the quality of the teaching and the way the assessment is woven into the five days.
If you want to gauge where you stand before the course, or simply settle your nerves about the exam format, try our free SMSTS mock test. It is a quick, no-obligation way to sample the style of questions you will face and identify any areas worth brushing up on.
Why train online from Hull
We are straightforward about this: we do not operate a physical SMSTS training centre in Hull, and you will not need one. The course is delivered entirely as a live online class, and for delegates in Hull and East Yorkshire that is a genuine advantage rather than a compromise.
Consider what a classroom SMSTS actually costs beyond the course fee. Five consecutive days of travelling to a fixed venue means a week of commuting, fuel and parking, or worse, a week of hotel bills if the nearest classroom course with availability happens to be in Leeds, Sheffield or further afield. For a working site manager, that is dead time and dead money. Training online, you are at your screen at 8:30 and back to your own life at 17:00, whether you are in west Hull, out at Hedon, across the water in Barton-upon-Humber or anywhere else with a decent connection.
- No travel, no parking, no hotels: join from home or the site office anywhere in the Hull area
- The same certificate: the live online course covers the full CITB syllabus and leads to exactly the same official CITB SMSTS certificate as any classroom course
- Real teaching, not videos: a live, CITB-approved trainer, real-time questions and genuine interaction throughout
- A wider room: you train alongside site managers from across the UK, which makes the discussions broader and the shared experience richer than a purely local class
- Easier for employers: Hull firms can qualify a manager without funding travel or losing extra days to the journey
That last point matters more than people expect. A classroom course in a single city draws delegates from that city. A live online course draws site managers from every corner of the country, running every kind of project, and the exchange of experience between them is one of the most valuable parts of the week. You bring your knowledge of Hull sites; someone else brings theirs from a high-rise job in Manchester or a civils scheme in Scotland, and everyone leaves sharper for it.
Certification and five-year validity
On passing the course, you will be awarded the official CITB SMSTS certificate. It is recognised across the UK construction industry, and it is the management-level safety qualification that principal contractors, clients and local authorities routinely require before allowing someone to run a site. Whether you present it on a project in Hull, on the south bank of the Humber or at the other end of the country, it carries the same authority, because it is the same national qualification.
The certificate is valid for five years from the date of issue. Before it expires, you keep it current by completing the two-day SMSTS refresher course, which updates your knowledge on legislation and best practice without repeating the full five days. Be warned: if you let the certificate lapse, you will normally have to sit the entire five-day SMSTS again, so it pays to put the refresher in the diary well before your expiry date. Five years passes faster than you think when you are busy running sites.
CITB grant funding
The SMSTS is a CITB grant-eligible course. If your employer is registered with CITB and pays the levy, the company may be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost of your training. For Hull construction firms putting one manager or several through the qualification, that support makes a meaningful difference to the training budget.
Claims are made by the employer to CITB, and approved grant payments go directly to the business after the delegate successfully completes the course. If you are unsure whether your company qualifies or how the process works, our team can point you in the right direction when you book; it is a well-trodden path and nothing to be daunted by.
How to book your SMSTS course in Hull
Booking takes a few minutes. You can book your SMSTS course online, where you will see the full list of upcoming five-day course dates and live availability, and secure your place at £430. Because the course is delivered online, delegates in Hull can join any scheduled date rather than waiting for a local classroom course to fill, which usually means you can train weeks sooner.
If you would rather speak to a person first, call our team free on 0808 164 2780. We can check dates, answer questions about the exam or entry requirements, advise on CITB grants, help you decide between SMSTS and SSSTS, and take group bookings if you have several managers to qualify. You can also find full course details, dates and related CITB courses on our main SMSTS course page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an SMSTS training venue in Hull?
No, and you do not need one. We deliver the SMSTS as a live online course via Zoom, so delegates in Hull, Beverley, Cottingham, Hessle and across East Yorkshire join the same real-time, tutor-led class from home or the site office. There is no travel, no parking and no venue to find; you simply need a suitable device and a reliable internet connection for the five days.
Will an online SMSTS certificate be accepted on Hull construction sites?
Yes. The live online course covers the full CITB syllabus and leads to the same official CITB SMSTS certificate as classroom training. Principal contractors and clients on Hull and Humber sites recognise it exactly as they would a certificate gained in a classroom, because it is the identical national qualification, valid across the whole UK construction industry.
Do I have to travel anywhere to sit the SMSTS exam?
No. The examination is completed as part of the live online course, so delegates from Hull sit it at the end of the week from the same place they trained. The exam uses multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions, lasts approximately 30 minutes, and has a pass mark of 81%. You can try our free SMSTS mock test beforehand to get a feel for the format.
How long is the SMSTS course?
Five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, running from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. Full attendance on all five days is required under CITB rules, so you should plan for a complete week away from normal site duties before you book.
How much does the SMSTS course cost?
The course costs £430. That covers the full five days of live tutor-led training, your course materials and the end-of-course examination. Eligible CITB-registered employers may also be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost, which is worth checking before you book if your company pays the levy.
What is the difference between SMSTS and SSSTS?
SMSTS is the five-day management-level course for site managers, project managers, agents and business owners who plan, organise, monitor and control construction work. SSSTS is a separate two-day course for site supervisors and first-line managers who lead a team on site. If you are responsible for the whole project, SMSTS is the right qualification; if you supervise a gang or trade under a site manager, SSSTS usually fits better. Call us if you are unsure and we will advise.
What happens when my SMSTS certificate expires?
The certificate is valid for five years. Before it expires, you complete the two-day SMSTS refresher course to renew it. If you allow the certificate to lapse, you will normally need to sit the full five-day course again, so book your refresher in good time.
Ready to get qualified? Secure your place on the next five-day live online SMSTS course for £430 and join site managers from Hull, East Yorkshire and across the UK on a qualification that stays with you for five years. Book your SMSTS course online now, or call our friendly team free on 0808 164 2780 and we will get you booked on, with honest advice on dates, grants and which course is right for your role.
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.
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