14 COMMENT THE INDUSTRY ADVOCATE
THE CASE FOR REFORMING CITB
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders
Brian Berry says that the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) still has a key role to play, but changes are necessary to make it fit for purpose, going forward.
The importance of training and recruitment has rarely been more important in the housebuilding industry, as the industry again finds itself struggling with severe skill shortages in many areas. Who trains and who pays is very much a live issue. Under the Industrial Training Act 1982 and subsequent Levy Orders any employer engaged ‘wholly or mainly’ in construction work is required to register with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and pay a levy on the payroll, precisely in order to make sure that more training happens.
GIVEN THAT SME FIRMS MAKE UP THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO PAY THE LEVY, THE FMB WANTS TO SEE THIS REFLECTED AT BOARD LEVEL
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
In October 2017 CITB confirmed the successful conclusion of its latest consensus process, by which it asked the industry to endorse payment of the CITB industry levy for a further three years. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), along with many other major UK construction trade bodies, has said that confirmation that the CITB levy will continue must act as the green light for reforms demanded by industry. Although the FMB and its members decided to give their backing to CITB to continue, opinion among FMB members was divided. Some wanted to see it continue and others wanted to see it abolished,
but all agreed that it is not currently working as well as it should for the industry’s smaller firms. So, the FMB has sent a clear message to CITB that it must reform and it must demonstrate a better return on investment for the industry than we are currently seeing. In particular, we have highlighted changes in governance and changes in the grant system that we think will be crucial to turn the situation around. Crucial to the future success of the CITB is a
shakeup of its governance structure. It is unacceptable that the CITB Board contains only one representative from an SME firm and no one from a typical SME construction background. Given that SME firms make up the vast majority of firms who pay the levy and it is SMEs that train two-thirds of all apprentices, the FMB wants to see this reflected at board level with at least half of its members coming from smaller, independent firms. In this light, we are pleased that in the Government’s Industry Training Board Review, published in November 2017, there is a recommendation to appoint to the CITB Board people with direct experience of small business.
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