The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the industry training board for the UK construction industry. [1]
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the industry training board for the UK construction industry. [1]
| Industrial Training Act 1964 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make further provision for industrial and commercial training; to raise the limit on contributions out of the National Insurance Fund towards the expenses of the Minister of Labour in providing training courses; and for purposes connected with those matters. |
| Citation | 1964 c. 16 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 12 March 1964 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Industrial Training Act 1964 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
| Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 | |
|---|---|
| Statutory Instrument | |
| |
| Citation | SI 1964/1079 |
| Dates | |
| Made | 13 July 1964 |
| Laid before Parliament | 20 July 1964 |
| Commencement | 21 July 1964 |
| Other legislation | |
| Made under | Industrial Training Act 1964 |
| Text of the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The CITB was established on 21 July 1964 by the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964, [2] and was one of a number of training boards covering UK industries. It was a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills [3] until 2016 when it moved to the Department for Education. [4] The activities of the CITB have been redefined by statutory instruments (including the Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1991 (SI 1991/28) and the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1992 (SI 1992/3048)). [2]
In October 2003 Charles Clarke, then Secretary of State for Education and Skills, awarded the licence for the new construction industry sector skills council (SSC) to "ConstructionSkills", a partnership between the CITB and the Construction Industry Council (CIC). [5] The CITB became known as CITB-ConstructionSkills, or simply ConstructionSkills, for the most of the next 10 years.
In March 2013, it was announced that the organisation would drop brands such as CITB-ConstructionSkills, CSkills Awards and the National Construction College (the NCC operated from seven locations: Ashbourne, Erith, Inchinnan, Bircham Newton near King's Lynn, King's Norton, Leytonstone and Llangefni), [6] and revert to its original CITB name as a result of industry feedback suggesting that multiple brands were causing confusion. [7]
The October 2016 Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model made several key recommendations to reform training in the industry. One of these was for fundamental reform of the CITB and the levy. [8] In May 2017, the awarding body Cskills Awards was sold to another industry awarding body NOCN. [9]
In October 2016, the government's skills minister Robert Halfon appointed Paul Morrell to lead a review of industrial training boards, in particular the future role of the CITB. [10] Industry support for the CITB varied widely, with some sectors (notably housebuilding) [11] voting against renewal of the CITB's levy, while others (Build UK, for example) favoured its continuation so long as there were reforms. [12] The report, Building Support: the review of the Industry Training Boards, was published in November 2017. [13]
In November 2017, the CITB unveiled a new strategy to become simpler and more streamlined, ending direct training via the National Construction College, and abandoning its facility at Bircham Newton in Norfolk moving to Peterborough, [14] where it is now based. [15] The changes were likely to include substantial job losses among the CITB's 1,400 staff, particularly in Norfolk, as it commissioned outside providers rather than providing training itself. [16] In total, 750 staff, more than half the workforce, were said to be under threat of redundancy. [17]
In April 2018, the CITB unveiled a three-year plan in which more than 800 staff would be axed in reforms designed to modernise its business. The CITB proposed to reduce from 1,370 UK staff in March 2018 to 358 by 2021. [18] In November 2018, various back-office functions were outsourced, affecting 337 staff, with most transferring to the new provider, Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL). [19] In December 2018, it was revealed that, to retain employment with SSCL, over 200 staff based in Norfolk, plus over 100 staff in London, Leicestershire, Scotland and Wales, would be forced to relocate and work from SSCL's offices in York and other locations - a move condemned by Unite the Union as effectively making the 300 staff redundant. [20] In March 2019, the CITB's new head office was established in Peterborough. [21]
In February 2020, the CITB announced it had sold the NCC's Bircham Newton site to West Suffolk College, based in Bury St Edmunds, aiming to continue construction industry training provision at the site. [22] However, the sale later fell through and in March 2021 CITB said it had decided to retain its Bircham Newtwon site, plus its Scottish facility at Inchinnan. [23] Industry publication The Construction Index said that retaining Bircham Newton and Inchinnan was "not just a temporary suspension of the sale process but an absolute volte face of policy and a return to its core purpose of providing training". [24]
In November 2020, the CITB's training facility in King's Norton was sold to Walsall College. [25] Sale discussions with a training provider for CITB's Erith facility were continuing in March 2021. [23]
In August 2020, it was reported that CITB staff were facing salary cuts and possible redundancies as the organisation managed a £160m decline in its income. [26] CITB opened consultations with staff to make up to 110 redundancies, saving £4.5m annually, with levy income predicted to fall due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. [27]
In July 2023, the Department for Education launched a review of CITB and ECITB, [28] to be led by Mark Farmer. [29]
With construction employers paying a statutory levy to the CITB, it has been subject to industry criticism over its funding of training. In June 2016, for example, the CITB was criticised for not supporting an industry charity, Building Lives, while providing grants to organisations to train sales and marketing staff. [30]
Despite the CITB's review and restructuring, criticisms of the body continued. In October 2021, the National Federation of Builders called for a fundamental CITB restructure to ensure greater efficiency, accountability, and a more focused and successful delivery of skills and training outcomes. [31] In January 2022, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee published a report, Meeting housing demand, which was critical of the CITB's training provision to small house-builders amid an ongoing skills shortage. It said:
In November 2022, the CITB made a £5.9m provision in its accounts after over-claiming for government apprenticeship funding. [33]
In May 2023, CITB was given a "requires improvement" rating following an Ofsted inspection, which criticised CITB's quality of education, leadership and management, and apprenticeships. [34]
The Clugston Group was a privately owned business involved in construction and civil engineering, property development and logistics. The group was based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire in England. On 5 December 2019, the group and its construction businesses filed for administration, with debts of £64m.
Bircham Newton is the smallest of the three villages that make up the civil parish of Bircham, in the west of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located about 1 km north of the larger village of Great Bircham, 20 km north-east of the town of King's Lynn, and 60 km north-west of the city of Norwich. In 1931 the parish had a population of 487. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished to form Bircham.
Royal Air Force Bircham Newton or more simply RAF Bircham Newton is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south east of Docking, Norfolk and 13.4 miles (21.6 km) north east of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.
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Interserve is a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and which is expected to be wound up in 2024. At that time, the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and had a workforce of 34,721 people.
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Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as one of the successor bodies to the Housing Corporation, and became operational on 1 December 2008.
Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Uxbridge, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916.
Walsall College is a further education college in Walsall, West Midlands, England.
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), until 2012 the Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association, and from then until 2016, B&ES, is the main UK trade association for companies that design, install, commission and maintain heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration (HVACR) and related engineering projects.
Willmott Dixon is a British privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business.
Paul Dring Morrell is an English chartered quantity surveyor. Formerly senior partner of Davis Langdon, he was, from November 2009 to November 2012, the UK Government's first Chief Construction Adviser.
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