The Major Contractors Group (MCG) has announced that all supervisors on their sites must attend the ConstructionSkills' supervisors safety training scheme
With the MCG representing the UK's largest construction companies, its decision means thousands of supervisors will receive health and safety training from ConstructionSkills by 2010.

MCG made its move, following a review identifying supervisor health and safety training as an operational priority which industry must turn its attention to.

The two-day Site Supervisors' Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS), which is part of the ConstructionSkills' Site Safety Plus (SSP) suite of courses, provides an introduction to health and safety, welfare and environmental issues. The SSSTS course was chosen by MCG after it reviewed various supervisor courses in the market.

MCG companies will ensure all its sites' supervisors achieve the SSP qualification by 2010. Those who have already achieved this qualification will be exempt until the renewal date, which is five years after certification, following which they will be required to renew the qualification.

After the initial two-year period, MCG will implement a 'zero tolerance' policy for those without this qualification on MCG sites, effective from January 1, 2010.

The SSP programme is delivered across the country through 130 training providers. The largest of these is the National Construction College, which is already planning to run more than 70 site supervisor courses across the country in 2008.

Vaughan Burnand, Chief Executive of Shepherd Construction and Chairman of the MCG Health and Safety group said 'Our front line supervisors assume huge responsibility and we are very pleased to have been working with ConstructionSkills in the development of a course designed specifically to help these supervisors fulfil these responsibilities.