CITB Refresher Courses: Complete Before Your Certificate Expires

Of the CITB courses we offer here at CST Training, the Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) and the Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) are both valid for five years upon completion. Before those five years are up, you must renew your certification via a Refresher course. But what makes CITB Refresher courses so necessary, and how do they actually work? 

In today’s blog, we’ll be breaking down all you need to know about renewing your CITB course certification.

CITB Refresher Courses Explained

The purpose of CITB Refresher courses is to bring you up to speed with any changes that might have occurred in regards to your qualifications. This typically would include changes to the industry, updates in legislation and laws, a change in methodology, or new ways for you to improve on your performance. 

Why Must You Attend CITB Refresher Courses?

For CITB courses like the SMSTS and the SSSTS, it’s particularly crucial to attend a Refresher course because there is no grace period. Prior to December 2015, there was a grace period of six months. But the rules have since changed. If you fail to renew your certification during the five years in which your SMSTS or SSSTS is valid, you will no longer be eligible for the Refresher. This would mean you’d need to sit the entire original course again. 

Aside from updating your knowledge in regards to changes that may have occurred in the last five years, the Refresher is also valuable in the sense that, over the course of those five years, it’s not out of the question that you’d pick up bad habits or forget certain things. The Refresher is a means of doing exactly that: refreshing your knowledge, so both you and your employer can remain fully confident in your abilities. 

Site Management Safety Training Scheme Refresher 

As we mentioned previously, the Refresher course for the Site Management Safety Training Scheme must be completed within five years of gaining your certification. This is the only way to extend your qualification. 

The Refresher for the SMSTS is a course that lasts two days, and is delivered via Zoom. It’s assessed via a multiple choice and short answer exam. The course’s primary contents include changes to laws and regulations, but information you learned in the original course will also be covered. With the SMSTS Refresher under your belt, you will never be working on outdated knowledge. This means that your site will remain as safe as it possibly can be.

Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme Refresher

Certification for the Site Supervision Safety Training Scheme works in just the same way as the SMSTS; you must take the Refresher course within five years of completing the original course. The SSSTS Refresher course only takes one day, is delivered via Zoom, and is also assessed via a multiple choice and short answer exam. 

The purpose of the SSSTS is to fill you in on any relevant changes to legislation. Information covered in the original course will also be touched on.

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