SSSTS Training in Glasgow – £199 Live Online

Course overview

Stepping up to run a gang or a work area is a real change of job. Suddenly you are the person the site manager relies on to turn the safety paperwork into what actually happens on the deck, and you are the person the crew looks to when something on the job does not feel right. The Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme, better known as SSSTS, is the CITB qualification that gives first-line supervisors the grounding to do that part of the role properly. We run it as a two-day live online course, which means supervisors working anywhere across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the wider Clyde corridor can gain the certificate their contractor asks for without losing extra days to a round trip across the city to sit in a training room.

Below you will find a full breakdown of who the course suits, what the two days cover, how the assessment works, what it costs and how to reserve a place. If anything is still unclear once you have read through, our team is on the phone and happy to talk it over before you commit.

Supervision is where a lot of otherwise well-run sites come unstuck. The paperwork can be immaculate, the RAMS can be signed off and filed, but if the person passing instructions to the crew has never been shown how to read a method statement critically or how to challenge unsafe work without losing the room, the safety system exists only on paper. The SSSTS exists to close that specific gap. It takes someone who already knows the trade and adds the supervisory judgement that turns a competent tradesperson into a competent supervisor, which is a different skill set and one that main contractors around Glasgow increasingly expect to see evidenced before anyone sets foot on their site.

What the SSSTS Course Is

SSSTS is a short, focused qualification aimed at the layer of management closest to the tools: supervisors, chargehands, gangers and team leaders working in construction and civil engineering. Over two days it equips the people directing work on the ground with the practical health and safety understanding they need to keep a crew safe and to keep their own decisions on the right side of the law.

It is worth being clear about where the SSSTS sits in the CITB Site Safety Plus family. It is not the SMSTS, which runs to five days and is written for site managers who hold overall accountability for a project. The SSSTS is pitched a rung lower, at the supervisor who is responsible for a team or a defined area of the works rather than the whole job. If you are unsure which level applies to you, the simplest test is whether you supervise people and tasks day to day, or whether you carry the top-line management responsibility for an entire site. The former points to SSSTS; the latter to our SMSTS course in Glasgow.

The scheme is backed by CITB and recognised by the UK Contractors Group, which is exactly why it turns up so often as a stated requirement in contractor prequalification and site access rules. Holding it gives a main contractor the assurance, in a currency the industry trusts, that you understand your duties and can put safe systems of work into practice on a live job rather than just recite them.

Who Should Attend

The course is written for anyone who has to make safety happen in real time, on a real site, with a real crew depending on the calls they make. Around Glasgow that covers a broad mix of people, and the course suits you if you are:

• A site supervisor or first-line manager on a construction project
• A ganger or chargehand accountable for a squad on the ground
• A tradesperson being promoted into a supervisory role for the first time
• A foreman who runs inductions, toolbox talks and the morning brief
• Someone supervising groundworks, civils, utilities or infrastructure packages
• An experienced hand who keeps an eye on site activity and now needs the formal safety competence to match the responsibility

No previous safety certificate is assumed. Plenty of delegates come to us precisely because they are about to move up and want the SSSTS in hand before they start the new role, rather than scrambling to arrange it once a contractor has already asked to see the card. If you are on that path, this is the course that gets you there in a fortnight of planning rather than months.

It is just as common for employers to book their people onto the course rather than individuals booking themselves. A Glasgow contractor bringing on new supervisors, or a firm that has won work requiring a certain number of SSSTS-holders on site, will often put a handful of staff through together. If that is you, it is worth thinking a step ahead about who on your team is likely to be supervising in the next year or two, not just who needs the ticket today, because training a slightly wider group at once tends to be simpler to arrange and keeps you from being caught short when the next contract lands with its own supervision requirements attached.

What the Course Covers

A qualified tutor leads the two days, and the content is deliberately framed around the choices a supervisor makes on shift rather than around theory for its own sake. The syllabus works through:

• The framework of health and safety law and where a supervisor’s personal responsibilities begin and end
• The supervisor’s part in keeping a site safe and in shaping the everyday safety culture of a crew
• Risk assessments and method statements, and how to brief them so a team actually follows them
• Running inductions and toolbox talks that land rather than wash over people
• Ongoing monitoring, and the judgement to know when a job has to be paused or stopped
• Getting safety-critical information across clearly to a workforce with mixed experience
• Understanding how a supervisor’s decisions ripple out to the health and wellbeing of everyone working under them

The teaching is built around discussion, not a monologue. Delegates are actively encouraged to bring the awkward, real situations they meet on their own sites into the room, whether that is a subcontractor cutting corners, a method statement that does not match what is in front of them, or a near miss that needs handling. Working those through with a tutor and a group of peers is what turns the content from something you sat through into something you can use on the next shift.

A good deal of the value sits in the softer parts of the job that rarely get taught anywhere else. Knowing the law is one thing; knowing how to stop a job, hold your ground and explain the decision to a frustrated site manager without it becoming a stand-off is another, and it is the sort of thing a Glasgow supervisor is called on to do more often than they would like. The course spends real time on how a supervisor communicates, how they document what they see, and how they escalate a concern so that it lands rather than getting lost. Delegates leave clearer not just on what the rules say but on how to hold the line when the pressure of programme and cost is pushing the other way.

Course Structure and Assessment

The SSSTS runs as a two-day live online class, timetabled from 08:30 to 16:00 with the day wrapping up at 4pm. It is delivered over a proper video link with a qualified instructor teaching live throughout, present the whole time to field questions, unpick examples and steer the group discussion in the same way they would standing at the front of a classroom. This is not a recorded module or a self-paced slideshow; it is a taught course that happens to reach you through a screen.

To come away with the qualification you need to attend both days in full, join in the exercises and discussion, and pass a short end-of-course assessment. Our SSSTS classes carry a 98% pass rate, and that figure is less about the exam being easy and more about how the material is delivered: talked through with you, anchored to situations you recognise, and reinforced across the two days rather than saved up for a cram at the finish. The tutor’s aim is for the whole group to leave genuinely understanding the content, not simply to have scraped a pass.

Pass, and you receive the CITB Site Safety Plus SSSTS certificate, valid for five years. Before it lapses you keep it live by sitting the one-day SSSTS Refresher, which catches you up on any shifts in legislation and good practice and renews the qualification for another five years. Diarising the refresher a little ahead of the expiry date is the easiest way to avoid a gap that could cost you site access when you least expect it.

A practical point worth flagging for anyone planning around a busy site programme: because the assessment is built into the second day, there is no separate exam to book or sit later, and no waiting weeks for a result before you know where you stand. You finish the two days knowing the outcome, and the certificate follows without you having to chase it. For a supervisor who needs the qualification in place before a start date, that certainty is often as valuable as the training itself, because it lets you tell a contractor exactly when your competence will be current rather than hedging.

Entry Requirements

There are no formal entry requirements and you do not need any existing safety qualification to book. The single thing to be mindful of is language. The course is taught in English and the assessment is completed in English, so every delegate needs a sound standard of spoken and written English to follow the material and finish the assessment on their own. Time already spent on construction sites helps you slot the content into context, and most delegates have some, but it is not a condition of enrolling. If you are weighing up whether the level is right for you or your team, ring us first and we will point you the right way before any money changes hands.

Why Train Online from Glasgow

Glasgow sits at the centre of one of Scotland’s most active construction economies, and the pipeline rarely lets up. City-centre commercial schemes, the steady flow of residential and student accommodation, the retrofit and refurbishment of an ageing building stock, and the transport, utilities and civils work that keeps Greater Glasgow moving all lean on the same thing: enough competent supervisors holding a current SSSTS to staff them. Pulling one of those supervisors off the job for two days to sit in a fixed venue somewhere across town is a headache almost nobody needs, least of all when the M8 is at a standstill.

Live online delivery takes that headache away. A supervisor in the East End, out towards Paisley and Renfrewshire, down into Lanarkshire or over in the site cabin on a job in the city centre can all qualify from wherever they happen to be, with no cross-town commute, no car park to find and no mileage to reclaim. Where a firm has people spread across several sites, they can all join the one class rather than converging on a single room on a single morning. What you do not lose is any of the live experience: a real tutor teaching in real time, a group to bounce situations off, and the freedom to ask a question the instant it occurs to you rather than parking it and forgetting.

The practical side is refreshingly simple. If you have ever joined a video call for work, you already have the skills you need. A computer, laptop or tablet with a webcam and microphone will do the job, and those are built into most modern devices, alongside a reasonable broadband or mobile connection. We send clear joining instructions well ahead of the start, and we are on hand if you want a hand getting set up on the day. Your course materials come as a straightforward download that stays yours to keep and refer back to when a real situation on site jogs your memory.

Pricing

The live online SSSTS is priced at £199, and it is the route the majority of Glasgow supervisors take for the balance of cost and convenience it offers. If you would rather learn face to face, an in-person classroom option is available at £279. Both lead to precisely the same CITB-recognised SSSTS certificate, valid for five years; the only thing that changes is how you attend. There are no surprise add-ons and your course materials are part of the price. It is also worth checking whether your business is registered with the CITB Grants Scheme, as SSSTS training can attract a grant that brings the real cost of qualifying your supervisors down further.

How to Book

Securing a place is quick. Choose the live online SSSTS, pick a date that fits around your workload, and reserve online at booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SSSTS. If you are arranging training for a group of supervisors, or you want to talk through available dates or check which level of the Site Safety Plus scheme is right for your team, call us on 0808 164 2780 and we will walk you through it. With demand for qualified supervisors across Glasgow holding as firm as it is, the dates that suit your programme tend to fill, so booking a little ahead is the surest way to lock in the one you want.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the online SSSTS course accepted on Glasgow construction sites?

It is. The SSSTS is recognised by CITB and the UK Contractors Group, and the certificate issued after the live online class is the identical, nationally recognised qualification as the one issued in a classroom. Principal contractors running work across Glasgow and the rest of Scotland treat it as proof that a supervisor holds the required health and safety competence, and the fact that you sat it online makes no difference to the card you hold at the gate.

What is the difference between SSSTS and SMSTS?

The two sit at different levels of the same CITB scheme. SSSTS is the two-day course for supervisors, gangers and first-line managers who run a team or a work area. SMSTS is the five-day course for site managers who carry overall responsibility for a project. As a rule of thumb, if you supervise people and tasks day to day, the SSSTS is yours; if the whole site’s management sits on your shoulders, you want the SMSTS instead.

Do I need to travel anywhere to take the course in Glasgow?

No. The live online SSSTS reaches you entirely over a video link, so you can join from home, from the site office or from anywhere across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the Clyde corridor with a suitable device and an internet connection. There is nothing to drive to and no travel to claim back. If you would genuinely prefer to be in a room, the classroom option is there as an alternative.

How long does the SSSTS certificate last?

Five years from the date you pass. To keep it live beyond that, you sit the one-day SSSTS Refresher before it expires, which refreshes your knowledge against any changes in the rules and extends the certificate for a further five years. Booking the refresher a bit ahead of the deadline saves you any awkward gap in your competence.

What times does the course run each day?

Both days run live from 08:30 to 16:00, finishing at 4pm. You have to attend in full on each of the two days to complete the qualification, so it pays to block the time out clear of site commitments and callbacks before you book rather than trying to dip in and out.

Do I need any qualifications or experience to book?

No earlier safety qualification is needed, and while a spell of construction experience helps you get more out of the two days, it is not a requirement. The one thing you do need is a good standard of spoken and written English, since the teaching and the assessment are both delivered in English and you complete the assessment yourself.

Can I train several supervisors from my company at the same time?

Yes, and the online format makes it far easier. Because nobody has to travel, supervisors based on different Glasgow and Clydeside sites can all sit the same class on the same dates without pulling everyone into one location and stripping the sites of cover. If you are booking for a group, call the team and we will help you line up dates and places that work around your programme.

Modules breakdown

Our comprehensive SSSTS training covers the following key areas:

Health and Safety Law

• Current legislation affecting construction supervision
• Legal responsibilities of supervisors on site
• Understanding Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) requirements
• Health and safety regulations specific to construction activities
• Consequences of non-compliance for individuals and companies

Risk Management

• Principles of risk assessment
• Understanding and implementing method statements
• Delivering method statement briefings for workers
• Managing common site hazards effectively
• Control measures for various construction activities
• Managing hazardous substances

Supervisory Responsibilities

• The supervisor’s role in safety management
• Building and maintaining a positive safety culture
• Identifying and addressing bad practice
• Effective communication techniques
• Managing subcontractors and visitors
• Conducting site inductions and safety briefings

Practical Safety Management

• Planning for site safety
• Conducting effective toolbox talks
• Safety inspection procedures
• Accident reporting and investigation
• Record-keeping requirements
• Promoting safety awareness among workers

Health and Wellbeing

• Occupational health concerns in construction
• Behavioural safety approaches
• Managing workplace stress
• Noise, vibration and dust exposure
• Manual handling best practices
• Worker welfare requirements

Environmental Issues

• Environmental responsibilities on site
• Waste management and reduction
• Energy efficiency considerations
• Pollution prevention
• Sustainable construction practices
• Regulatory compliance

Course Structure

The CITB SSSTS course is delivered over two consecutive days through our professional remote learning platform:

• Led by experienced instructors with extensive construction backgrounds
• Interactive sessions with fellow construction professionals
• Comprehensive digital training materials provided
• Practical scenarios and case studies
• Group discussions and knowledge-sharing opportunities

Full attendance across both days is required to qualify for the examination. The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical application to ensure relevance to daily supervisory duties.