Sarah Beale: ‘Business plan will make a radical difference’
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has confirmed nearly 800 job cuts as part of its new three-year reforming business plan, which aims to modernise the organisation.
The business plan adds detail to the CITB’s consultation exercise Future CITB: Vision 2020, published last year.
It also takes on board feedback from levy payers, industry and the government’s review of the organisation.
The CITB’s business plan also set out details of how it will spend the planned £689m investment in construction skills for 2018-21.
It will spend:
- £613m on training and development to deliver “skills outcomes”;
- £31m on engagement, securing the skills policy framework;
- £17m on careers, increasing from £3m in 2018/19 and £8m in 2020/21;
- £9m on building CITB’s evidence base, identifying needs and delivering outcomes;
- £4m on standards and qualifications.
As part of the CITB’s programme of modernisation, its workforce is expected to decrease from 1,370 employees to fewer than 600 by 2020/21.
The job losses include the outsourcing of many of CITB’s back office functions which it aims to have in place by the end of 2018.
The organisation has already introduced a new training model and grant scheme earlier this month, as well as appointing Student Loans Company boss Peter Lauener as chairman.
CITB chief executive Sarah Beale, said: “CITB has listened, and we have now taken action. This business plan sets out our ambitions for the next three years.
“It shows how CITB’s work across England, Scotland and Wales will modernise and repurpose. By 2020 we will be the ‘levy in, skills out’ body construction employers asked for, doing less, better, while being fully transparent and accountable.
“I am confident that this business plan will make a radical difference to CITB, enabling us to meet the skills needs of construction.”
