The Department of Work & Pensions is proposing to establish a single, unified Industry Training Board which would serve the combined construction and engineering construction sectors. This would involve the merger of the current Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) to form a single training body.
A consultation is currently underway and TTA members are encouraged to participate. The consultation runs until Sunday 14th June 2026.
TTA’s position on the changes is that the new combined training board must be better funded than at present. Policy changes and structural alterations which don’t answer this basic requirement are not meeting the needs of the industry. Recent cuts to apprenticeship funding, excessive bureaucracy and wastage of resources have led some to comment that the CITB is not currently fit for purpose.
The recent removal of the short course training grant, with the onus being put on to employers to provide funding, and the closure of the Skills & Training Fund have created additional hurdles for apprentices trying to get into tiling, and put the future of our trade as a skilled profession into doubt. The CITB has claimed that a 36% increase in demand for its services over the past four years, combined with a static levy rate, has necessitated the cuts, so that it can maintain its core apprenticeship funding and avoid exceeding its income.
The Government states that its new proposals set out:
- The rationale for ITB reform, including the skills challenges the reform seeks to address;
- The proposed approach to ITB reform and the intended benefits of a single, unified ITB;
- The technical detail of creating a single, unified ITB, including implications for its governance, levy arrangements and skills offers;
- Alternative approaches to ITB reform that were considered.
Visit the consultation online: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/industry-training-board-reform/industry-training-board-reform
