The Federation of Master Builders has published an official letter to the Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board, Sarah Beale. This letter illustrates the federation’s support of the training board as a part of their consensus process but has highlighted the significant changes that are needed in order to make the training options better for SMEs.
The Construction Industry Training Board, or CITB is an organisation that splits opinion. Some of the Federation of Master Builders, FMB, members feel that the CITB should be kept, to offer training to the workforce on the construction industry, and some members feel that the levy abolished. Even though there is indecision about the future of the CITB, there is one point that all FMB members would agree on: that the CITB is unfit for SMEs. At the moment the training board does not offer a service that can be utilised effectively by smaller construction companies. Because of this, SMEs are unable to claim back training grants and are struggling to obtain quality training en masse.
The FMB have announced in their official letter to the CITB Chief Executive Sarah Beale that they will continue their support of the levy, but this support is not an acceptance of the status quo for the training organisation. SMEs make up 98% of the construction industry, however there is only one representative from SMEs on the CITB Board. The SMEs are also known to train two third of the apprentices in the industry, meaning that they are in need of the training and support offered by the CITB arguable more than any other company type. In order to reflect this, it is thought that there needs to be more representation of SMEs on the Board. This change could make the CITB more effective in the future and help the construction industry to flourish.
