CITB spending welcomed amid calls for reform

Industry groups have given a cautious welcome to details of how some of the money the under-fire CITB collects through its annual levy has been spent.

The clamour from housebuilders and contractors for the training body to be reformed has intensified in recent weeks. The boss of the country’s biggest contractor, Balfour Beatty, questioned its very survival ahead of its triennial consensus vote this month, where 14 trade bodies and 6,000 non-affiliated construction companies vote on whether the organisation can continue collecting the training levy from them.

Balfour Beatty’s Leo Quinn said: “We are voting in the dark, recommitting to a levy – and thus to an organisation – whose potential ongoing failure would have a major impact on future economic growth.”

And this week Redrow chief executive John Tutte, although stopping short of saying the body needed to be scrapped, said there was “no doubt the CITB has not been delivering”, adding that he had “concerns about its direction and there needed to be change”.

In its report the CITB said 303 projects in England, Scotland and Wales had benefited from funding of £17.8m between September 2015 and December 2016.

Micro and small firms made up the majority (231) of those receiving funds, followed by construction federations (38), large employers (18), CITB-funded training groups (nine), medium-sized employers (six) and one trade union.

Industry groups, which have been critical of the CITB’s slow pace towards reform, issued cautious statements about the report.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which had previously called on the CITB to be “much more strategic, industry-led and accountable”, said the report was “a useful step in demonstrating greater transparency with respect to the investments made by CITB which is welcomed by CLC.

“CLC expects much more of the same from a reformed CITB after the conclusion of the review,” it added.

The Home Builders Federation said it welcomed money being allocated for specific projects that helped increase industry skills capacity, but its concerns about the CITB’s future remained.

“The current discussions about reform of the CITB raise much bigger issues, however, and what we want to see is an overall package of measures the housebuilding industry can have full confidence will deliver its needs and its fair share of resources to help it recruit and train the people required,” it said.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Willmott Dixon said the CITB’s report underlined its “key role [in] supporting micro and small firms in our industry in areas like health and safety training and skills development that they might not be able to fund themselves”.

“This support remains a vital part of our industry’s future and the report is a timely reminder of the CITB’s outputs,” he added.

Steve Radley, the CITB’s director of policy, said the group’s report showed how levy payers’ money “was having a positive impact on our industry, including on many small firms”.

“It shows that CITB funding helps people gain qualifications, reduce skills gaps and improve staff morale. For employers it has encouraged innovation and facilitated new partnerships, as well as improving perceptions of construction as a career,” he said.

“We will continue to work closely with our industry to ensure that funding is targeted at its priorities and delivers the outcomes it needs.”

Voting on the triennial consensus ends on 29 September, with an announcement on the outcome in November.