Course overview
Running a construction site in Plymouth means carrying the safety of everyone on it, and that responsibility does not wait for you to feel ready. From the waterfront regeneration around Millbay and Royal William Yard to the residential growth pushing out towards Sherford and Plymstock, the city has a busy and varied construction picture, and every one of those projects needs managers who understand health and safety law and can make it work on the ground. The CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is the qualification that proves you can do exactly that. It is the recognised standard for site managers across the UK, and it is the certificate most principal contractors in Plymouth and the wider South West expect their management staff to hold before they take charge of a site.
Plymouth sits at the far end of a large regional market that stretches across Devon and into Cornwall, and the type of work is genuinely mixed. City-centre commercial redevelopment, marine and dockyard-related work around Devonport, hospital and education schemes near Derriford, new housing on the eastern edge of the city, and refurbishment and civils work spread across the region all place the same core demand on the people in charge: plan the work properly, control the risks, and lead a workforce safely from start to finish. The SMSTS course is built around those responsibilities. It takes managers and prospective managers through the legal duties, the planning and monitoring, and the day-to-day decision-making that keep a construction site compliant and safe.
This page covers the SMSTS course delivered as a live online class for delegates in Plymouth and across the South West. It is the five-day site managers’ qualification, priced at £430, delivered over a video link in real time by a CITB-approved trainer. Below you will find who the course is for, what it covers, how the five days run, how the assessment works, and how to book a place. If you supervise a crew or a work area rather than manage a whole site, you may want the two-day SSSTS instead, and we explain the difference further down.
Who the SMSTS course is for
The SMSTS is aimed at the people who plan, organise and control construction work rather than those who carry it out or directly supervise a single crew. It is written for site managers, project managers, site supervisors stepping up into management, agents, and business owners who oversee construction sites in Plymouth and the surrounding area. If you are the person responsible for how a site is set up, how the work is sequenced, and how safety is managed across the whole project, this is the qualification that reflects that role.
It suits managers who already hold the responsibility and want the recognised certificate that goes with it, as well as those moving up from a supervisory position into a management one. Many people in Plymouth and Devon take the SSSTS as supervisors first and then complete the SMSTS as they progress into site management. It is equally relevant to experienced managers whose certificate is approaching its five-year expiry and who want to understand the current requirements before renewing, and to owners of smaller construction and civils firms across the South West who manage their own sites and need to demonstrate competence to clients and principal contractors.
You do not need an existing safety qualification to attend the SMSTS, though some experience of construction site work is a genuine help, because much of the course connects the legal framework to real situations you will recognise. If your role involves being accountable for safety across a site in Plymouth, whether that is a single housing plot or a larger regeneration scheme, the SMSTS is the course written for you.
What you will learn
The SMSTS gives site managers a thorough working knowledge of the health, safety, welfare and environmental legislation that applies to construction, and, just as importantly, the practical skill to apply it. Rather than a dry recital of regulations, the course frames the law around the decisions a manager actually makes: how to plan work so that risk is designed out where possible, how to produce and use risk assessments and method statements, and how to monitor a site so that standards hold up once the work is under way.
Across the five days the programme covers the manager’s legal responsibilities and the duties that sit with the role, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and how they shape a project, risk assessment and method statements in practice, and the management of the common high-risk activities on a construction site such as work at height, excavations, scaffolding, temporary works and occupational health hazards. It also deals with the softer but equally vital side of the job: setting and maintaining standards, communicating them to a workforce, monitoring performance, and investigating incidents so that lessons are actually learned. This is a summary of the ground the course covers; a full module-by-module breakdown is set out separately on this page.
A recurring theme through the week is the difference between having a safe system on paper and making it happen on a live site. Method statements that never leave the site office, risk assessments that are not communicated to the workforce, and monitoring that stops once the job is under way are exactly the failures the SMSTS is designed to prevent. The course teaches you to keep safety active: to brief your teams, to check that controls are actually in place, and to step in and correct standards when they slip. For a manager juggling programme, budget and a busy Plymouth site, that discipline is what keeps people safe and keeps the project compliant when the pressure is on.
The aim throughout is that what you learn transfers straight onto your Plymouth sites. The material is taught with case studies, worked examples and group discussion, so you leave able to act on the knowledge rather than file it away as theory. That practical grounding is a large part of why our delegates perform so well: our SMSTS courses carry a 98.7% pass rate.
How the course runs
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. It is a genuine tutor-led class delivered live over a Zoom video link, not a self-paced recording or a set of modules you click through on your own. You join a scheduled class at the set time and work through the material in real time alongside a CITB-approved trainer and other delegates, exactly as you would in a physical classroom.
Because the class is live, it is fully interactive. You can ask questions as they occur to you, raise real situations from your own Plymouth sites, and hear how other managers handle the same challenges. The trainer is present throughout to explain, to work through examples and to keep the group engaged, so the five days feel like a taught course rather than a lecture you watch. That real-time interaction is what makes the difference between a proper SMSTS class and a recorded course, and it is why delegates come away confident in applying what they have covered.
The five days are demanding and there is a fair amount of ground to get through, so it is worth setting the week aside clear of site commitments where you can. You will need to attend each day in full to complete the course and sit the assessment. We send clear joining instructions and your course materials ahead of the start date, so you know exactly what to expect and can be set up and ready before day one.
Assessment and exam
Assessment on the SMSTS combines your participation across the five days with a formal examination at the end of the course. Taking an active part in the group tasks and discussions matters, because the trainer is looking for evidence that you can apply the material and not just recall it. The written work you complete through the week feeds into that picture as well.
The final exam lasts approximately 30 minutes and is made up of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions. It is designed to check that you have understood the manager’s responsibilities and can apply the key safety principles in practical situations. The pass mark is 81%, so the exam expects a solid grasp of the material rather than a lucky guess, which is exactly why the taught, interactive format pays off.
If you want to see the style of questions and test your readiness before the course, we offer a free SMSTS practice test you can take as many times as you like. You can find it at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/smsts-mock-test/. Working through the mock test is a good way for Plymouth delegates to arrive on the first day knowing where they stand and where to focus their attention.
Why train online from Plymouth
Plymouth sits a long way from the traditional network of fixed training venues. For a site manager working the far end of Devon or out towards the Cornish border, the old route to an SMSTS certificate often meant a long drive up the M5 to a centre somewhere else in the region, five days away from the site, and possibly nights away from home on top of the course fee. That is a real cost in time and money, and it takes a manager away from the very sites that need them.
Delivering the SMSTS as a live online class removes that friction completely. Managers anywhere in Plymouth, across Devon and throughout the wider South West can qualify from a site office, from home, or from anywhere with a quiet space and a stable internet connection. There is no commute, no parking to find, no fuel to recover and no overnight stay. You keep the week productive around the course rather than losing days to travel, and you stay close to your projects.
For firms managing several sites across the city and out into the region, the online format also makes it far easier to get a management team trained without pulling everyone off site at once or coordinating travel from projects that might be miles apart. Managers based on different Plymouth and Devon sites can join the same class from wherever they happen to be working that week.
Crucially, training online changes nothing about the qualification itself. There is no physical training centre involved, and the course is delivered live online only, but you get the full taught experience: a real CITB-approved trainer teaching in real time, group discussion, and the chance to ask questions as they come up. It is the same CITB syllabus, the same examination and the same certificate that Plymouth’s principal contractors and clients expect, delivered in the way that actually fits how construction across the South West works.
Certification and five-year validity
On successful completion you receive the official CITB SMSTS certificate. It is recognised across the UK construction industry and is the credential principal contractors, developers and local authorities in Plymouth and beyond routinely require of their site management staff. Because it is a nationally understood qualification, it is fully portable, which matters for managers who move between projects, clients and sites across Devon, Cornwall and the rest of the country.
The SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. To keep it current you complete the SMSTS refresher course before the expiry date, which brings your knowledge up to date with any changes in legislation and best practice and renews your certificate for a further five years. It is well worth keeping track of your expiry date and booking the refresher in good time, so that your certification never lapses and you are never held off a site for the sake of an out-of-date card. You can find details of the refresher at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/courses/citb-smsts-refresher-course/, and our team can help you plan the timing so it fits around your work.
CITB grant funding
The SMSTS is eligible for CITB grant funding, which can offset a meaningful part of the cost for many Plymouth construction employers. If your business is registered with the CITB Levy, you may be able to claim a CITB grant towards the price of the course. The grant is claimed by the employer and paid to the employer by CITB after the delegate has successfully completed the training, subject to CITB’s approval and their current grant terms.
For firms across Plymouth and Devon that are putting several managers through the course, the grant can make a real difference to the overall investment in bringing a management team up to standard. If you are not sure whether your business qualifies or how the claim works, our team can talk you through it, and we can provide the completion evidence you need to support a claim once the course is done.
How to book your Plymouth SMSTS course
Booking a place is straightforward. Choose the live online SMSTS course, pick an upcoming date that suits you, and reserve your place online at https://booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS. Once you are booked we will send your joining instructions and course materials ahead of the start date so you are ready for day one.
If you would rather talk it through first, or you are arranging training for several managers from the same Plymouth firm, call our team free on 0808 164 2780. We are happy to advise on dates, on CITB grant funding, and on whether the SMSTS or the two-day SSSTS is the right fit for a particular role before you commit to anything. You can also see all upcoming dates and options on the main SMSTS course page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to travel to a training centre in Plymouth?
No. There is no physical venue for this course. The SMSTS is delivered as a live online class over a Zoom video link, so you can join from anywhere in Plymouth, across Devon or throughout the wider South West. All you need is a device with a webcam and microphone and a stable internet connection. It saves you the drive up the M5 and any nights away from home while giving you exactly the same qualification.
Is the online SMSTS certificate recognised on Plymouth construction sites?
Yes. The certificate you receive is the official CITB SMSTS certificate, exactly the same as one gained in a classroom. It is recognised across the UK construction industry, so it is accepted by principal contractors, developers and clients on sites across Plymouth, Devon and the rest of the country. The delivery method does not change the qualification in any way.
How long is the SMSTS course and what are the hours?
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. You need to attend every day in full to complete the course and sit the exam, so it is worth setting the week aside clear of site commitments where you can.
How much does the SMSTS course cost?
The live online SMSTS course is £430. If your business is registered with the CITB Levy, you may be able to claim a CITB grant towards that cost, which can reduce the overall investment for Plymouth employers putting managers through the course. Our team can explain how the grant claim works.
What is the difference between the SMSTS and the SSSTS?
The SMSTS is the five-day qualification for site managers, project managers and agents who plan, organise and control whole projects. The SSSTS is the shorter two-day qualification for supervisors and first-line managers who oversee a crew or a work area on the ground. If you manage a site, you need the SMSTS; if you supervise a team, the SSSTS is the right course. Many Plymouth supervisors take the SSSTS first and move on to the SMSTS as they step up into management.
How is the SMSTS assessed?
Assessment combines your participation across the five days with a formal exam at the end. The exam lasts around 30 minutes and contains multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions, with a pass mark of 81%. You can try our free practice test beforehand at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/smsts-mock-test/ to see the style of questions and gauge your readiness.
How do I renew my SMSTS certificate when it expires?
Your SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. To renew it you complete the SMSTS refresher course before the expiry date, which updates you on any changes to legislation and best practice and issues a new five-year certificate. Details are at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/courses/citb-smsts-refresher-course/, and we can help you time it so your certification never lapses.
Ready to take the next step in your construction management career? Secure your place on an upcoming live online SMSTS course for Plymouth today at https://booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS, or call our team free on 0808 164 2780 for help with dates, group bookings across Devon and the South West, or CITB grant funding. Get the qualification Plymouth’s sites expect, without leaving the city to earn it.
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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