Can SSP courses be delivered on-site?
Yes. All seven CITB Site Safety Plus courses can be delivered on a client site by MPTT instructors: SMSTS, SSSTS, SEATS, TWS, TWC, Health & Safety Awareness and the Director’s Role. On-site delivery removes operator travel and downtime and is usually the most cost-effective option for employers training three or more delegates at once.
Key facts
- All seven SSP courses can be delivered on a client site, plus the SMSTS and SSSTS refreshers.
- On-site delivery requires a suitable classroom space (meeting room, training room or site cabin) with seating, projection or a screen and access to break facilities.
- Course duration does not change: a 5-day SMSTS is still 5 days, a 2-day SSSTS is still 2 days.
- Per-head cost typically falls materially as group size rises and operator travel costs disappear.
- CITB-accredited instructors travel to client sites across England.
- CITB Levy-registered employers can usually grant-recover on-site training in the same way as centre-based training.
Why employers run SSP courses on-site
For employers training supervisors, managers or directors in any volume, on-site delivery answers three problems at once:
- Operator travel and downtime. Sending supervisors away for 2 or 5 days costs the business time on top of the course fee. On-site delivery removes the travel and accommodation cost.
- Scheduling. Releasing several supervisors to attend the same centre on the same dates can be difficult. On-site delivery at your own yard or training room makes the schedule manageable.
- Site relevance. Running the course in the operator’s working environment lets the instructor anchor case studies and group exercises to the projects the team is actually delivering.
For Tier 1 main contractors running multi-project programmes, on-site SMSTS and SSSTS delivery is the standard approach.
What we need at the site to run an SSP course
On-site SSP delivery requires a small set of practical arrangements:
- A classroom space capable of seating the delegate group comfortably. Site meeting rooms, training rooms or appropriately fitted-out site cabins all work.
- Projection or a screen for the course slides. We can bring a portable screen on request.
- Break and refreshment facilities. Tea, coffee and a lunch break are part of the standard CITB day.
- Adequate ventilation and lighting for a full 7.5-hour training day.
- Site induction for the instructor on arrival if the classroom is inside a live site perimeter.
We do a pre-course site walk-through (often a phone call plus photos) to confirm the classroom is suitable before the booking is confirmed.
Which SSP courses we run on-site
| Course | Duration | Common on-site use case |
|---|---|---|
| SMSTS | 5 days | Tier 1 contractor running site managers through SMSTS in cohorts of 6–12. |
| SMSTS Refresher | 2 days | Annual on-site refresher day for managers whose certificates fall in the same window. |
| SSSTS | 2 days | Subcontractor running a cohort of working supervisors through SSSTS together. |
| SSSTS Refresher | 1 day | Quarterly on-site refresher day for supervisors whose certificates align. |
| TWS | 2 days | Civils contractor training a temporary works team ahead of a major package. |
| TWC | 2 days | Site engineering and management team taking on TWC duty across a project. |
| SEATS | 1 day | Environmental supervisors and SHEQ leads running SEATS in a single cohort. |
| Director’s Role | 1 day | Board and senior management team taking the course together at head office. |
| Health & Safety Awareness | 1 day | Apprenticeship intake or new-starter cohort run through HSA on day one. |
The economics of on-site delivery
For SMSTS in particular, the maths usually favours on-site delivery from around 4 delegates upwards. The instructor day rate is fixed regardless of group size, so the per-head cost falls quickly as the group grows. On top of that, every operator who would otherwise have travelled and stayed away for 5 days now stays at home and returns to site each evening, removing accommodation and travel. For SSSTS, on-site delivery is typically the cheaper option from around 5 delegates upwards. For HSA at 8–12 new-starters, on-site delivery is almost always the cheapest option. Send us the course, the delegate count and the postcode and we will quote both options side by side.
CITB Levy grant on on-site courses
For CITB Levy-registered employers, on-site delivery is grant-recoverable on the same terms as centre-based delivery. The CITB does not penalise on-site training. MPTT issues the same achievement documentation for an on-site cohort as for a centre-based course, and the employer claims the grant in the usual way. For employers running a multi-cohort SSP programme, the combination of on-site delivery, group booking and Levy grant typically reduces the net cost substantially compared to sending supervisors and managers to a centre individually.
How to book on-site delivery
Send us:
- The course (SMSTS, SSSTS, refresher, SEATS, TWS, TWC, HSA or Director’s Role).
- The delegate count.
- The site postcode.
- A summary of the classroom space available.
- The deadline by which delegates need to be certificated.
We will come back with a date, an all-in price and a brief pre-course site check. For CITB Levy-registered employers we will set you up with the documentation needed to recover the grant. Call 01543 899706 to start the booking.
Related questions
- What’s the difference between SMSTS and SSSTS?
- How much does an SMSTS or SSSTS course cost?
- Who needs SMSTS vs the Black Manager CSCS card / NVQ route?
- What is CITB Site Safety Plus?
- What is the CITB HS&E Test and how does it relate to SSP?
Quick answers to related questions
What space do I need at site to run SMSTS on-site?
A meeting room, training room or appropriately fitted-out site cabin with seating for the delegate group, projection or a screen, access to break facilities and adequate lighting and ventilation for a 7.5-hour training day.
Does on-site delivery change the course length?
No. A 5-day SMSTS is still 5 days; a 2-day SSSTS is still 2 days. What changes is the time staff spend travelling and away from site, which usually makes the total time-out-of-business significantly shorter.
Is on-site SSP training grant-recoverable on the CITB Levy?
Yes. CITB Levy grants are paid on the same terms for on-site and centre-based delivery. MPTT issues the achievement documentation the CITB needs for the employer to claim the grant.
Last updated: 2026-05-21. Reviewed by the MPTT CITB Site Safety Plus training team, CITB-approved instructors.
Bringing CITB SSP Training to Your Site?
Midland Plant Training & Testing delivers the full CITB Site Safety Plus suite on client sites across England, including SMSTS, SSSTS, refreshers, SEATS, TWS, TWC, the Director’s Role and Health & Safety Awareness. We pre-check the classroom space, confirm the schedule and run the course at your yard, project or head office. Tell us the course, the delegate count and the postcode, and we will quote a price.
