Vision 2020: Bold new strategy for the CITB unveiled

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has unveiled a bold new strategy for its future, dubbed ‘Vision 2020: The Future CITB‘, with a view to reestablishing it as an agile, forward-thinking skills body.

The much-anticipated modernisation of CITB follows the Government-led ITB Review and the triennial Consensus process. While the industry has voiced its support for the construction levy, it has also called for significant reform. That outcry has been driven by past CITB performance and the industry’s need for a skills body that can help it meet of trials of tomorrow – Brexit, for example.

Over a three year period, ‘Vision 2020: The Future CITB’ will shape the skills body into a simpler, more streamlined organisation. It will become a commissioner of outcomes that serve the construction industry’s core objectives. The Future CITB will also use Levy money to better guarantee a sustainable training and development environment, intervening only when a service is unavailable in the marketplace or not to the quality sought.

“Construction needs to modernise and CITB is no exception,” said Sarah Beale, Chief Executive of CITB. “We accept the challenges laid down by industry and Government and we will deliver a future-fit training body by adapting and updating our business model.

“Some really tough decisions could be made under these proposals but I’m confident in our commitment to becoming a more representative, accountable and reliable ‘levy in, skills out’ organisation. We now have a clearly defined path, and we see a bright future for a modern, engaged CITB. We look forward to working with our industry and Government to build a better Britain.”

The three key tenets of CITB remain ‘Careers’, ‘Standards and Qualifications’ and ‘Training and Development’, but the new organisation will adopt a different approach to delivering on these:

1. Evidence: Develop a robust evidence base through research and market intelligence to determine the construction industry’s current and future skills needs, the supply of training and interventions required.
2. Influence: Work with the industry to influence skills funding, vocational training, government policies and provisions.
3. Funding: Make use of employer funds to support construction, with employers addressing their own skills needs.

In its quest to become more accountable, CITB has also developed an ‘Agenda for Change’ – a six-point set of outcomes for 2018 and beyond. In it are commitments to be more relevant, representative and responsive to construction industry’s needs – from SMEs all the way up to major contractors. The skills body has also pledged to adapt its governance so that it accurately represent the construction industry of today.

Sarah Beale, Chief Executive at CITB, concluded: “I understand this strategy will bring about big changes to employees at CITB and we will be supporting our colleagues as much as possible throughout this process. These are tough calls to make, but needed if we are to meet the future demands and make the greatest impact to construction.

“We have worked hard to develop robust, well thought-out plans which meet our industry’s needs whilst building a solid foundation for CITB’s future. The proposals outlined today will be phased in over the next three years, and with our customers always in mind it’s business as usual.”

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