ITB Review: What next for CITB?
At the end of January, the Department for Education published its long anticipated ITB Review.
The review of Industrial Training Boards was conducted by Mark Farmer in 2023 and outlined recommendations for the Construction (CITB) and Engineering (ECITB) training boards.
The report’s publication was delayed following its completion in 2024 due to the change of government.
What were the recommendations?
Although the review highlighted several areas for development, fundamentally the review concludes that there continues to be a need for CITB and ECITB.
17 recommendations were made in the report, including the need for:
- continued intervention to support workforce development
- better accountability for tangible outcomes to industry and government
- improved competency across the workforce, in part to support the role of the Building Safety Regulator
- more strategic careers support to attract new entrants to the industry
- a single body formed from CITB and ECITB to recognise that some careers and projects, reach across the two organisations
- a digital skills passport system, which demonstrates a worker’s competence listing qualifications, work experience and accreditations.
What does this mean for PCA members in-scope?
With the exception of the invasive weed sector, the vast majority of PCA members are in-scope to CITB. PCA members with a wage bill of less than £135,000 are not required to pay the Levy, although once registered are eligible to claim grant and funding.
We have already begun to see CITB work more closely with the ECITB although government’s current position is that whilst there are benefits to greater alignment, there are no current plans to create a single body.
CITB will establish a steering group to consider all the recommendations, and we can expect to see the outcome of this over the coming months.
Many of the recommendations will be medium to long-term objectives, however we can expect to see CITB consider how it reports on its achievements over the long-term (such as number of entrants retained in the sector), rather than short-term figures (number of training courses funded each year).
As part of its usual review cycle (and outside of the ITB Review process), every three years, CITB must consult with industry on its levy proposals to see whether they meet its needs. This spring, CITB-registered companies will have the opportunity to have their say on these proposals via the consensus process. Further detail on the proposals and how the industry will be consulted, will follow in the spring.