Skills & Education | 11
Campaigning for timber sector education, training and skills development
CITB FUNDING HELPS TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has awarded £430k from its flagship Industry Impact Fund to develop a comprehensive industry training programme to accelerate timber construction in the UK.
Above: Timber in construction skills training
The CITB funding will be used to develop training content and courses to improve pathways for those entering the construction industry, as well as help upskill and re-skill existing construction workers and equip them to meet the needs of the rapidly growing timber construction sector. It will also help support the aims of the Timber in Construction Roadmap, a government-industry partnership launched last year. The funding bid was developed by a consortium of industry partners led by CITB levy-payer Donaldson Offsite, a leading offsite timber manufacturer in the UK. The consortium includes education institutions Edinburgh Napier University and New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), the construction innovation centre ‘Built Environment - Smarter Transformation’ (BE-ST), along with industry bodies Structural Timber Association (STA) and Timber Development UK (TDUK).
“CITB is proud to be working alongside industry partners to support the timber sector to train, develop and retain its workforce,” said Vanessa Freeman, head of grant and funding projects at CITB. “It’s essential to encourage collaboration to tackle skills shortages, improve diversity, and future-proof the workforce. “Timber construction is one of the fastest growing construction sectors, driven by a need for carbon
reduction across the built environment. This funding will help bridge the skills gap that exists in this and other parts of the construction industry to help the timber sector achieve its potential.” “We’re incredibly proud to have led this bid on behalf of the timber construction sector and grateful to the CITB for their support,” said Alex Goodfellow, CEO of Donaldson Offsite and chair of the Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI). “It’s been inspiring to see such a broad cross-section of the supply chain come together on this initiative – a clear demonstration of how important timber construction is to our future.” “Meeting the UK government’s ambition for sustainable housing will only be possible if we tackle the growing skills gap. The way to do that is through real investment in people – by improving training, strengthening education, and creating clearer pathways into timber construction.”
The project, started in October 2025 and running for 24 months, will understand the gaps industry is experiencing around existing learning materials and delivery. From this gap analysis, the aim is to develop robust, effective accredited courses, whilst creating clear career pathways to upskill and reskill the workforce, focusing on the management and on-site delivery of offsite manufactured modern methods of construction (MMC) using structural timber.
“This project has been developed hand in hand with the sector and its agencies to ensure it aligns with industry need,” said Professor Robert Hairstans, Edinburgh Napier and NMITE, who chairs the Timber in Construction Skills Group. “The ambition is to create a scalable and sustainable model that integrates timber construction training into the national education system, ensuring the industry can meet future demands. Over two years the project will establish new courses and integrate with accredited programmes scaling up timber MMC delivery via regional training.” If you’d like to register your interest in the training programme, visit:
https://www.be-st.build/timber-in-construction-skills ■
Supporting the Confederation of Timber Industries’ (CTI) Skills & Education initiative
www.ttjonline.com | Sping 2025 | TTJ
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