The CITB Health & Safety Awareness Course - Why is it so important?

Throughout the construction industry there is always the debate about whether holding a CSCS card is actually a requirement or just a money making scheme. To gain the most basic CSCS card you must complete the following steps:

-?????????Complete a 1 day Health & Safety Awareness Course

-?????????Complete a CITB touch screen test

Only once both of the above tasks are complete can you then apply for a card. But what if you don’t work on a site that requires a CSCS card, should you still complete the course?

It is the opinion of many that completing the Health & Safety Awareness course is only useful for gaining a CSCS labourers card but what if you have never worked in a construction industry before. Is it more beneficial to complete the course to have a basic knowledge of Health & Safety on site?

The Health & Safety Awareness course is a CITB course offered by an approved site safety plus centre. The course covers many aspects of Health & Safety on a site including:

·????????General Responsibilities

·????????Relevant Legislation

·????????Accident Prevention and Reporting

·????????Health and Welfare Introduced

·????????Manual Handling

·????????Working At Height

·????????Personal Protective Equipment

·????????Emergency Procedures and First Aid

·????????Fire Prevention and Control

·????????Hazardous Substances

·????????Handheld Equipment/Tools & Electrical Safety

·????????Noise and Vibration

·????????Site Transport Safety

·????????Excavations and Confined Spaces

?Following the completion of the course any person will:

1. Understand the need to prevent accidents
2. Have an understanding of health and safety law
3. Identify how their role fits into the control and management of the site
4. Understand the need for risk assessments and method statements
5. Feel obliged to stop and ask for advice and report unsafe acts to prevent an accident.

As the Health & Safety Executive states:

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires you to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of your employees. This is expanded by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which identify situations where health and safety training is particularly important, eg when people start work, on exposure to new or increased risks and where existing skills may have become rusty or need updating.??

So yes the CITB Health & Safety Awareness is the first step in gaining a CSCS card but it is also the first step in making sure your employees are suitably trained to be on site.

The cost of training is always a worry however the CITB offer a wide range of grants through the short assured courses or through the skills & training fund. The lack of training should not be due to not having the money avaliable.

For any more infromation on any training courses or assist with funding please email: [email protected] or call (0191) 4820108