Course overview
Manchester has spent the last decade building at a pace few UK cities can match. Cranes over the city centre have become part of the skyline, with high-rise residential towers around Deansgate and Great Jackson Street, commercial schemes at NOMA and Circle Square, and large-scale regeneration pushing out through Ancoats, New Islington, Mayfield and Victoria North. Add the ongoing development around Salford Quays and MediaCity, Airport City to the south, and a steady pipeline of refurbishment, fit-out and civils work across Greater Manchester, and you have one of the busiest construction markets in the country. Every one of those projects needs competent site management, and on the vast majority of them that means a manager holding a valid CITB SMSTS certificate.
The Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is the five-day CITB qualification for the people who run construction sites: site managers, project managers, agents and business owners who plan, organise, monitor and control the work. Principal contractors across Manchester routinely make a current SMSTS certificate a condition of taking on site management responsibility, so if you are stepping up from a supervisory role, moving between contractors, or formalising duties you already carry, this is the course the industry expects you to hold.
Our SMSTS course for Manchester is delivered live online over a Zoom video link, taught in real time by experienced construction trainers from Skills Training Group, a CITB-approved training organisation. You get the full CITB syllabus, the same examination and exactly the same nationally recognised certificate as a classroom course, without giving up ten hours of the week to commuting across the city. The course costs £430, runs over five consecutive midweek days, and our delegates achieve a 98.7% SMSTS pass rate.
Who is the SMSTS course for?
The SMSTS is aimed squarely at people with management-level responsibility on construction sites. If you are accountable for how a site is planned, resourced and run, rather than just supervising a single gang or trade, this is your qualification. It suits:
- Site managers and assistant site managers on projects across Manchester and the North West
- Project managers and contracts managers who need site management competence on their CV
- Site agents and works managers on civils and infrastructure schemes
- Experienced supervisors stepping up into their first site management role
- Business owners and directors of construction firms who oversee their own sites
- Client-side and consultant staff who need to understand how safe sites are managed
It is worth being clear about where the SMSTS sits against the SSSTS, because the two are often confused. The SSSTS is the two-day course for site supervisors and first-line managers, the people who direct a crew and deliver toolbox talks. The SMSTS is the five-day course for the person responsible for the whole site. If your name goes on the construction phase plan, if you are the one inducting subcontractors, coordinating temporary works and answering to the principal contractor or the client, the SMSTS is the course Manchester employers will ask you for. Many delegates take the SSSTS earlier in their career and progress to the SMSTS as their responsibilities grow; we run both, and our team can advise if you are not sure which fits your role.
There are no formal entry qualifications. You do not need to hold the SSSTS first, and you do not need any previous safety certificates. Some experience of working on site is strongly recommended, because the course is built around discussion of real site situations and you will get far more from it if you can relate the material to projects you have worked on. The firm requirements are a good standard of spoken and written English, since the course and the written examination are delivered in English, plus a reliable internet connection and a suitable device for the live online sessions.
What you will learn
Over the five days your tutor works through everything a site manager needs to run a safe, legally compliant construction site. The programme covers the Health and Safety at Work Act and the key regulations that flow from it, including the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and what they demand of site management. You will learn how to prepare and manage risk assessments and method statements properly, how to set up and maintain safe systems of work across multiple trades, and how to plan, monitor and control high-risk activities such as working at height, excavations, demolition, scaffolding, temporary works and confined spaces.
Just as importantly, the course deals with the human side of running a site: behavioural safety, building a positive safety culture, managing occupational health and welfare, and handling the practical realities of inducting, briefing and managing a mixed workforce of direct employees and subcontractors. A full module-by-module breakdown is listed further down this page, so we will not repeat every topic here, but the thread running through all of it is practical application. This is not five days of reciting legislation. Sessions are built around discussion, case studies and group exercises, and tutors draw on their own construction backgrounds to connect the law to what actually happens on site.
That discussion-led format is one of the reasons delegates from Manchester get so much out of the course. A class typically includes managers from a range of sectors, from residential towers and commercial fit-out to civil engineering and refurbishment, and hearing how other managers handle the same problems is a genuine part of the learning.
How the course runs
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, with each day running from 8:30 in the morning until 17:00. You attend from wherever suits you, whether that is your home, a quiet room in the site office, or your company’s premises, joining the class over a Zoom video link. Full attendance on all five days is required; the CITB syllabus is intensive and every day builds on the last, so this is a week you block out properly rather than dip in and out of.
This is a genuine live class, not a recorded module or a self-paced e-learning package. Your tutor teaches in real time, you can see and speak to the other delegates, and the group exercises, discussions and case studies run exactly as they would in a physical training room. You can ask questions as they occur to you, raise scenarios from your own Manchester projects, and get answers from a trainer with real construction experience there and then. Course materials are provided, and we send clear joining instructions before the course starts so you know exactly how to connect. If you have ever sat in on a Zoom call, you already have all the technical ability you need, and our team is on hand to help if you have any trouble getting set up.
Because the course is delivered online there is no physical venue to travel to. For most Manchester delegates that is the single biggest practical advantage, and we cover it in more detail below.
Assessment and the SMSTS exam
Your understanding is checked continuously through the week via the exercises, discussions and knowledge checks your tutor runs, and the qualification is confirmed by a final examination at the end of the course. The exam paper is made up of multiple-choice questions, multi-response questions where more than one answer applies, and short written-answer questions. It lasts approximately 30 minutes, and the pass mark is 81%.
That pass mark sounds demanding on paper, but the course is structured to get you there. By the time you sit the exam you will have spent five full days working through the material with your tutor and testing your understanding against real scenarios, and our 98.7% pass rate reflects how well that preparation works. If you want to gauge where you stand before the course, or steady your nerves during the week, you can work through our free SMSTS mock test, which lets you practise the style of questions you will face in the real examination.
Why train online from Manchester?
We deliver this course live online rather than from a Manchester training centre, and for a five-day management course that is a genuine advantage rather than a compromise. Be wary of any assumption that a qualification of this standing has to mean a week of commuting: the certificate you receive is identical.
Think about what a venue-based week actually costs a Manchester site manager. Five days of fighting traffic on the M60 or squeezing onto the tram, five days of city-centre parking charges, and if you are based further out towards Bolton, Wigan or Warrington, potentially ten hours or more of travel across the week before you have learned a thing. Training online removes all of it. You join the class from home or the site office at 8:30 and you are done at 17:00, with your evenings intact and no travel cost stacked on top of the course fee.
The reach matters too. Because there is no venue, the course is equally convenient whether you are in the city centre, Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury or anywhere else across Greater Manchester and the wider North West. Companies running sites across the region can put several managers through the course without pulling them all into one location in the same week. And rather than training only alongside whoever happens to be in a local classroom, you train with site managers from across the UK, which makes the case-study discussions noticeably richer.
Most importantly, nothing about the qualification is diluted. The online course follows the full CITB syllabus, is taught live by the same calibre of construction trainers, includes the same examination, and leads to the same CITB SMSTS certificate that any classroom course anywhere in the country would issue. Sites in Manchester accept it exactly as they would a classroom-earned certificate, because it is the same certificate.
Certification and five-year validity
On passing the examination you are awarded the official CITB SMSTS certificate. It is recognised across the UK construction industry and is the standard evidence of site management safety competence that principal contractors, local authorities and clients ask for, in Manchester and everywhere else in the country. There is no regional version and no lesser online version: one certificate, recognised nationwide.
The certificate is valid for five years. Before it expires you keep your qualification current by completing the SMSTS refresher course, a shorter course that updates you on changes to legislation and best practice and issues a fresh five-year certificate. It is worth putting the expiry date in your calendar as soon as your certificate arrives, because if you let it lapse you cannot simply refresh it; you would need to sit the full five-day course again. We can help you plan your refresher when the time comes so your qualification never becomes a barrier between you and your next Manchester project.
CITB grant funding
If your employer is registered with CITB, the business may be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost of this course. For construction firms across Greater Manchester that are already paying the levy, the grant meaningfully reduces the net cost of getting a manager qualified, and it applies to the live online course just as it does to classroom delivery. Grant payments are made to the employer rather than the individual delegate, and eligibility depends on the employer’s CITB registration. If you are unsure whether your company qualifies or how the claim works, our team can point you in the right direction when you book.
How to book your SMSTS course
Booking takes a few minutes. You can view upcoming course dates and reserve your place online at booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS, or call our team on 0808 164 2780 if you would rather book by phone, ask about group bookings, or talk through whether the SMSTS is the right course for your role. The course fee is £430. Because the course runs frequently, Manchester delegates can usually find a start date within a few weeks, which matters when a contract award or a new project is waiting on your certificate.
Once you are booked we send joining instructions and everything you need for the week ahead of your start date. If your employer is putting several managers through, or you want to combine SMSTS bookings with SSSTS places for your supervisors, call us and we will organise it. You can also find general information about the course on our main CITB SMSTS course page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the online SMSTS certificate accepted on Manchester construction sites?
Yes. The live online course follows the full CITB syllabus, includes the same examination and leads to the same official CITB SMSTS certificate as any classroom course. Principal contractors and clients on Manchester sites accept it exactly as they would a classroom-earned certificate, because there is no difference between the two documents. The certificate is recognised across the whole UK construction industry.
Do I have to travel anywhere in Manchester to attend?
No. The course is delivered entirely live online over a Zoom video link, so there is no venue, no commute and no parking to think about. You join the class from home, a site office or anywhere else in Greater Manchester or the North West with a quiet space and a reliable internet connection. All you need is a suitable device, and we send full joining instructions before the course starts.
How long is the SMSTS course and what are the hours?
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, with each day running from 8:30 to 17:00. Full attendance on all five days is required to sit the examination and gain your certificate, so plan for a clear week away from day-to-day site duties.
How much does the SMSTS course cost?
The live online SMSTS course is £430. Employers registered with CITB may also be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost, and because the course is online there are no travel, parking or accommodation costs on top of the fee. You can book online or call 0808 164 2780 to reserve your place.
What does the SMSTS exam involve?
The final examination is a paper of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions, lasting approximately 30 minutes, with a pass mark of 81%. Your tutor prepares you for it throughout the five days, and our delegates achieve a 98.7% pass rate. You can try our free SMSTS mock test to practise the question style before or during your course.
What is the difference between SMSTS and SSSTS?
The SMSTS is the five-day CITB course for site managers, project managers, agents and business owners who are responsible for planning, organising and controlling a whole site. The SSSTS is the two-day course for site supervisors and first-line managers who direct a crew. If you manage the site, you need the SMSTS; if you supervise a gang within it, the SSSTS is the right course. Many Manchester delegates progress from SSSTS to SMSTS as they move into management.
How long does my SMSTS certificate last, and what happens then?
Your CITB SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. Before it expires you complete the SMSTS refresher course, which updates you on current legislation and best practice and issues a new five-year certificate. If you let the certificate lapse you would need to retake the full five-day course, so it pays to book your refresher in good time.
Manchester’s construction pipeline is not slowing down, and neither is the demand for qualified site managers to run it. Secure your place on the live online SMSTS course today: book online at booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS or call our team on 0808 164 2780, and within a week you can hold the management qualification that sites across Manchester, Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK expect.
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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