In April, 17,000 active construction safety training cards issued by Valor Consulting, an agency supposed to provide site safety training (SST) courses for construction workers, were invalidated. Manhattan Criminal Court indicted the company for selling falsified cards to workers without providing safety training courses. New York City encourages these workers to contact the Department of Small Business Services and take verified safety training courses to gain eligibility to work at certain construction sites.
Also Read: NYC Company That Faked Worker Safety Training Makes National List of Most Dangerous Employers
In addition, we have also received inquiries from WeChat readers about where to find SST courses. This article will provide information about these courses. As a newsroom devoted to covering immigrant communities, Documented has compiled a comprehensive guide for immigrant New Yorkers. This article is part of the guide.
What is site safety training?
In 2017, New York passed Local Law 196, requiring workers at job sites requiring a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator or Site Safety Manager to have a minimum of 40 hours of safety training. Construction workers can work for six months after receiving 10 hours of training. During this time, workers need to take another 30 hours of courses to get an SST card, which is valid for five years.
SST courses include eight prescribed courses, which total 32 hours of instruction, as well as general and specialized electives. Prescribed courses include a site safety plan (SSP), drug and alcohol awareness, pre-task meeting, toolbox talks, fall prevention, supported scaffold user and refresher, and a site safety manager. If you previously completed department-approved courses, you may have earned credit for part of your SST required hours. You can verify this by reviewing the “Department of Buildings-approved Site Safety Training Course” document. You may get site safety training for free with the NYC Small Business Services Department.
Where can I find SST courses?
NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) works with NYC’s industrial and construction industry partnerships and the Workforce1 Industrial and Transportation Career Center, offering SST courses at no cost. Please fill out this survey if you are interested.
The course offered by SBS is open to NYC residents over 18 years old. This 40-hour schedule includes 30 hours of NYC DOB approved courses, eight hours of fall prevention, and two hours of drug and alcohol awareness training.
For those holding a valid OSHA 30 card issued within the past five years, SBS offers a fast track to earn your SST card by completing the remaining 10 hours of training, including eight hours of fall prevention and two hours of drug and alcohol awareness training.
The above training is operated through SBS Workforce1 Career Centers across the five boroughs. Courses are offered in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and other languages. The centers’ information is as follows:
Bronx Workforce1 Career Center
400 E. Fordham Road, 8th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458
Brooklyn Workforce1 Career Center
9 Bond St., 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Upper Manhattan Workforce1 Career Center
215 W. 125th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10027
Queens Workforce1 Career Center
168-25 Jamaica Ave., 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11432
Staten Island Workforce1 Career Center
120 Stuyvesant Place, 3rd Floor, Staten Island, NY 10301
Other than SBS courses, you can also check the “Approved Course Providers” on the DOB’s website, many of which offer courses in different languages.
