The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has launched a new e-course titled Covid-19: Setting up and operating a safe construction site.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (External link - Opens in a new tab or window), revealed earlier this year, showed that men working in occupations including construction had the highest Covid-19 death rate of all categories of employment.

The new, free e-course has been designed to strengthen ongoing pandemic preparedness, so that managers and supervisors can deliver toolbox talks to their teams on topics including:


• understanding how a virus spreads

• social distancing

• current legislative guidance

• risk management

Based on feedback from employers during the height of the lockdown earlier this year, CITB developed a standard to support training courses for managers and supervisors to deal with site operations during a pandemic.

The standard was based on the CLC's Site Operating Procedures with guidance from employers and was developed into an e-course through the summer.

Braden Connolly, CITB Director of Products and Services, said: "We're providing this pandemic site operating e-course as part of CITB’s support for construction employers at this time.

"Industry has told us that updating lapsed qualifications amid Covid-19 is a priority. We launched online e-learning courses earlier this year as an alternative to face-to-face training, so that construction workers can learn at their own pace, at any time, remotely.

"Making sure that everyone has access to this information could not be more important, which is why we have made it free and accessible to all."