According to the latest annual reports and accounts, CITB has supported a number of apprenticeships and training schemes, benefiting the industry
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has published its annual report and accounts for 2016. According to the details, the organisation, which supports training in the construction sector, was able to make savings by streamlining its operations.
The document was put before parliament and includes details about the CITB’s day-to-day operations and finances. This covers areas such as Levy income, grants and funding paid out to the industry, and the cost of running the CITB itself.
The report showed over 26,000 construction apprenticeships gained support through the Grants Scheme. This included 15,000 through CITB Apprenticeships. The Skills and Training Fund also supplied £2m funding to support nearly 500 SME employers.
Other CITB schemes included a new scaffolding training centre in Aberdeen. This was undertaken in partnership with a leading college. Work also started on a new innovation centre in Wales. This will drive world-class construction training.
The CITB launched the Home Building Skills Partnership alongside the Home Builders Federation and also created the Labour Forecasting Tool to provide insight into skills needs across the country.
Lastly, a careers website was set up to help young people access information on construction roles. It was designed with industry support.
Significant achievements
According to the report, the organisation achieved a 26 per cent drop in the cost of ‘running the business’. This fell from £46.2m in 2015 to £34.2m in 2016. The industry also gained back 104 per cent of the money paid in through the Levy.
Further cuts were made to staffing. Headcount reduced by 10 per cent from 1,459 in 2015 to 1,314 in 2016. This restructure of senior CITB staff reduced overheads.
Chief Executive Sarah Beale said: “2016 was a year of significant achievements, which saw CITB improve its support for employers of all sizes in each nation and region of the country. While doing so, we made some tough choices by reducing staff numbers and overhauling our pension scheme, which have made us a leaner, more efficient organisation.
“Changes to our finances, our evidence base and our funding work, and clarity on our future offer, put us in a strong position. They allow us to modernise into the organisation that can successfully partner with our industry to meet its skills needs in the years ahead.”
Chairman James Wates added: “CITB must play a central role in tackling the skills challenges currently felt in the construction industry. This includes continuing the journey of simplifying the Grants Scheme and making sure that it targets the industry’s precise skills needs, now and in the future.
“CITB is also focused on making a strategic contribution, by providing evidence, information and guidance to construction employers, training providers, and Government. Rather than just focusing on ‘Levy in, Grant out’; it is about investing in skills to create real value for the industry and the people in it.”
