Changes to the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test

More improvements will be made to the CITB Health, safety and environment (HS&E) test on 26 June 2019. These changes are being made to make the test even more robust so that operatives can continue to be safe on the job, and know that their fellow workers are just as qualified to contribute to a safe working environment. Employers can also have the assurance that their qualified workforce is less likely to lose days to injuries on the job.

What is changing on 26 June 2019

The CITB HS&E test will be revised in several ways. Details of what will be changed are below.

Up to date with current practice and legislation

All versions of the test have been reviewed, and where applicable the questions have been updated to keep up with current legislation.

The Operatives test in particular will have a substantial update to better reflect the range of day to day tasks and responsibilities an operative has on a site.

CITB has worked with construction health and safety managers and trainers with years of hands-on experience in making these changes, so that the revised HS&E test is up-to-date and fit for the needs of workers and employers.

Level playing field

Each person taking the revised Operatives test will have the same proportion of easy, medium and hard questions. The test will continue to serve up a random combination of questions to a candidate, but each combination will have the same level of difficulty.

We’ve worked with industry experts to make sure that all the test questions were rated for difficulty, so that the revised test is a ‘level playing field’ for operatives who take it.

One score to pass

Instead of two sections of questions to answer, candidates will only have one in the revised test. The behavioural case studies and accompanying questions will be taken out.

The test will still examine whether candidates know the right behaviours to demonstrate in the job - those behavioural elements will be incorporated into many of the 50 test questions.

As there will only be one section of questions, the score will be simpler to understand as a result.

With the new scoring, candidates will now need the following scores to pass the test:

• for the Operatives test, the pass mark is 45 out of 50
• for the Specialists test, the pass mark is 45 out of 50
• for the Managers and Professionals test, the pass mark is 46 out of 50.

New questions and a new style

New questions have been added to better cover the wide range of daily health, safety and environment tasks and responsibilities. So, instead of a limited variety of questions, each candidate will now get a wider selection.

A new question style has also been introduced to the Managers and Professionals (MAP) version of the test. In this new style, candidates will drag and drop the answers into the right order. This format helps test whether a candidate really knows the procedures for being safe on the job.

This new style joins the other styles that were added to the test over the last year.

Clearer instructions

Test centres reported that many workers struggled with the instructions on how to use the test equipment. We’ve now improved the on-screen tutorial so that candidates can learn how to operate the equipment during the test.

Materials to revise, not memorise

Revision materials, such as DVDs, books, downloads and apps, have all been updated alongside changes to the HS&E test. In the operatives version, we’ve replaced some questions and answer with short explanatory text and included more diagrams to make it easier for candidates to prepare and revise for the test.

The updated operatives revision material won't have every single question and answer from the test. However, it will still cover all the information needed to revise for the test. Examples of the updated revision materials can be seen below.

These updates have been designed to help workers learn and be able to practise health and safety. When a worker passes the test, it should be because they know and practise safe working, not because they’ve memorised the answers but don’t really know how to be safe on the job.

The updated revision materials are now available to purchase and download from the CITB Shop.
Please note, if you’re taking the test before 26 June 2019, you should purchase the 2018 version of the revision materials (not the updated 2019 version).

What these changes mean for you

The health, safety and environment field has changed a lot since 2001. More is now required of construction workers to work on a site safely, especially for new workers who lack the same levels of knowledge and skills that experienced operatives have. The CITB Health, safety and environment (HS&E) test needed to be revised so that it continues to assure workers that their fellow operatives can be trusted to be safe on the job and not put them at risk of harm.

For employers, these changes should help with keeping their workforce up to date with current health and safety practices and legislation, and improve productivity with fewer days lost to injury.

What will not change:

• how much time a candidate has to take the test – it will still be a 50 question test that needs to be completed in 45 minutes
• being able to get special assistance, such as sign language, translators, etc. for the test
• regular question styles, such as multiple choice questions, will still be used in the test.