Unite: UK construction facing “skills black hole” following CITB exit

Unite, the construction union, has cautioned that the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) decision to end all direct training by 2020 will create a “skills black hole”.

Last November CITB announced that it would undergo a major restructure. As part of that restructure, the board would cease to provide training directly, instead sourcing other training providers to plug the gap.

In a recent blog post Sarah Beale – Chief Executive of CITB – went further, outlining the ramifications for the construction industry in light of the decision.

“The plans are to exit all direct training by the beginning of 2020,” said Beale, “with the intention to sell these activities ideally as a going concern, where ever feasible… If we cannot sell these activities, then there is a risk that we will need to discontinue and close some business areas.”

In Unite’s view, much of the specialist construction training undertaken by CITB is bespoke, while the board’s Bircham Newton facility – a former airfield in Norfolk – means that complex training involving heavy equipment, tunnelling, cranes and scaffolding can easily be conducted.

Crucially, the sale of training activities is a complex issue. The way in which CITB training is currently carried out means that loss making courses are subsidised by their profit making counterparts. This “cross fertilisation” is unlikely to interest a private provider however.

According to Jerry Swain, National Officer for Construction at Unite: “This reveals that the CITB has no commitment to ensuring that there are the necessary training facilities available to meet the UK’s construction training needs.

“Much of the direct training provided by the CITB is absolutely unique, if no one picks this up there is a real danger that the UK will not have the necessary skilled workforce to maintain a buoyant construction industry.

“The CITB is in danger of becoming a self-serving, self-satisfying organisation that fails to deliver for the needs of the industry it is meant to serve.”

Unite will now write to the relevant government ministers and their shadow equivalents to raise its concerns about the future of construction training given the CITB’s decision.

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