Can you run a site with SSSTS?

It's one of the questions supervisors ask us most, usually just after they've been put in charge of a job: "I've got SSSTS. Can I run the site?" The honest answer is that the law doesn't mention either course, so nothing in it says you can't. But SSSTS isn't written for running a site, and many principal contractors won't accept it from the person in charge. Here's how to work out where you stand.

What the law actually asks for

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, known as CDM 2015, don't name SSSTS, SMSTS or any other course. What they require is that anyone appointed to carry out construction work has the skills, knowledge and experience to do it safely, and that contractors plan, manage and monitor the work under their control. Where more than one contractor is involved, the principal contractor must plan, manage, monitor and coordinate the whole construction phase.

So the legal question is never "which certificate do you hold?" It's "can you show you're competent for the job you've been given?" Training is one of the main ways of showing that, which is why choosing the right course matters.

What SSSTS is written for

CITB designs the two-day SSSTS course for people who have, or are about to take on, supervisory responsibilities on site. It covers the supervisor's legal and moral responsibilities, risk assessments and method statements, toolbox talks, inspections, and the high-risk activities a supervisor oversees day to day. Delivering a toolbox talk is part of the assessment, alongside a 25-question exam.

What it doesn't go deeply into is the manager's side of the job: running the construction phase plan, appointing and controlling subcontractors, coordinating trades across the whole site, and leading accident investigations. Those belong to SMSTS.

What SMSTS adds

The five-day SMSTS course is designed for site managers and people about to become site managers: those responsible for managing, monitoring, implementing and reporting in a construction environment. Build UK endorses it as the standard training for construction managers, which is why it appears in so many principal contractors' site rules.

CITB also recommends that people without previous health and safety management experience start with SSSTS. If you're new to being in charge of anyone, SSSTS is still the right first step.

When SSSTS is usually enough

• You run a gang or a section of the work, and someone else manages the site.
• You're a working foreman for a subcontractor, reporting to the principal contractor's site manager.
• You cover the site for short periods while the site manager is off, with your employer's and the client's agreement and a manager you can call.

When you'll be asked for SMSTS

• You're named as the site manager in the construction phase plan.
• You appoint, induct and manage subcontractors.
• You're the most senior person on site, day in, day out.
• The principal contractor's site rules or the client's requirements say so. Check the tender documents and induction pack: if SMSTS is listed for site managers, an SSSTS certificate won't get you through the gate.

"I've been running small jobs on SSSTS for years"

Plenty of experienced supervisors do, especially on domestic and small commercial work where nobody asks. The risk shows up when something goes wrong. After a serious incident, the questions are about whether the person in charge was competent and properly trained for the role they were actually doing. "I'd done the supervisor course" is a weak answer if you were the site manager in every sense but the title.

There's a practical side too. As firms grow, they start tendering for work with larger contractors and public clients, who check training records at pre-qualification and again at induction. Holding SMSTS before that happens saves a scramble for course dates.

Stepping up from supervisor to site manager

You don't need SSSTS before you book SMSTS, and there's no rule that you take them in order. If you've supervised for a while and you're now running jobs, book SMSTS. It's a demanding week with group exercises and a final exam, so set the time aside properly. Our guide to choosing between SMSTS and SSSTS walks through common situations.

What about your CSCS card?

Neither course gets you a CSCS card: CSCS doesn't accept SSSTS or SMSTS for one. Cards come from an NVQ plus the CITB health, safety and environment test. Supervisors usually take a Level 3 or Level 4 NVQ for the Gold Supervisor card, explained in our guide to the Gold card NVQs, and site managers usually take the Level 6 NVQ for the Black card.

Keep whichever you hold in date

Both certificates last five years. To renew, you take the refresher before your certificate expires: the one-day SSSTS Refresher or the two-day SMSTS Refresher. CITB's rules are clear that if you miss the expiry date, you go back to the full course.

Where to take it

In South Yorkshire, SSSTS and SMSTS run in the classroom at our Rotherham venue at Bradmarsh Business Park, off the A6178 Sheffield Road and about 20 minutes from Sheffield city centre outside rush hour. Both also run live online with a tutor, as consecutive days, one day a week or at weekends. If you're a supervisor in the city, our page on health and safety courses in Sheffield lists the next classroom and online dates in one place.

Still not sure which one your role needs? Call us with your job title and what you're responsible for, and we'll tell you straight.