Welcome to VERCIDA website.

Skip to main content
Enable Recite to make this website accessible

ABOUT

CITB is the Industry Training Board for the construction industry and a partner in ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council

We are the Industry Training Board and a partner in the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry in England, Scotland and Wales. It's our job to work with industry to encourage training, which helps build a safe, professional and fully qualified workforce.

The support and funding we provide helps companies to improve skills, increase their competitiveness and respond to challenges such as the low carbon agenda, reducing costs on site and recruiting the best talent for their sector.

We take a leadership role for the industry, addressing skills challenges through:

Our Strategic Plan - Sector Skills Agreement

We work in partnership with the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and CITB-ConstructionSkills Northern Ireland.

We are committed to working together and with our industry, to deliver industry-led skills and training solutions through the Sector Skills Agreement for construction (SSA).

We aim to provide a coordinated sector-based approach to skills, giving the industry one voice on its training needs.

We negotiate the best partnership and funding deals for the construction industry, help raise standards and develop the skills products and services employers need.

Sector Skills Agreement

As a Sector Skills Council (SSC), with our partners, CITB-ConstructionSkills Northern Ireland and CIC, we work in partnership with employers, training providers, other stakeholders and government to address key skills issues in the construction industry. The series of formal agreements which define and shape this role, together form the Sector Skills Agreement (SSA)

Our priorities are decided by the challenges that the construction industry faces.

Leadership Challenge

Providing industry leadership on skills and leadership training for employers:

  • Working across the industry to raise investment in skills
  • Using our well-respected research data on future skills needs to influence Government policy
  • Addressing employers’ leadership and management needs
  • Developing industry standards to improve Fairness, Inclusion and Respect

Productivity Challenge

  • Helping our industry to compete
  • Working to qualify experienced workers
  • Improving health, safety and environment awareness and competence on site
  • Helping employers’ review their business skills needs and improve them cost-effectively
  • Establishing productivity benchmarks for the industry
  • Developing guidance on Building Information Modelling (BIM) and facilitating improved knowledge and skills for employers

Low Carbon Challenge

  • Building knowledge on industry’s future skills needs and sharing practical solutions
  • Working to influence over policy and funding for low-carbon skills

Employer Engagement Challenge

  • Promoting investment in training and development
  • Diagnosing skills needs and identifying solutions
  • Working with all types of employer groups to reach more businesses

Recruitment & Retention Challenge

  • Keeping the pipeline of talent flowing
  • Promoting and delivering apprenticeships
  • Influencing the construction-related curriculum
  • Working to support undergraduates
  • Information, advice and guidance on qualifications and careers for potential recruits, parents, guardians and advisors
  • Researching methods to increase employer confidence in the quality of training provision

Education & Training Challenge

  • Working with providers to deliver ‘right skills, right place, right time’
  • Working with providers to ensure industry’s current and future skills needs are met with efficient, affordable and high quality training
  • Using our authoritative understanding of skills provision to influence government funding
  • Developing innovative ways of working with schools, colleges, and universities to stimulate interest in careers in the built environment

Our Construction Skills Strategy - 2012-2017

The Construction Skills Strategy for 2012-2017 replaces the Construction Qualification Strategy 2006-2011.

The aim of the strategy, is to identify industry-wide education and training needs for 2012 – 2017 that will equip learners with the skills needed by employers.

It follows major changes to the education and training landscape since the strategy was officially adopted in 2007, including the rollout of the Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme and widespread reform of 14 -19 learning and Higher Education Funding.

The HSE report into competence has also identified the need to confirm the industry’s definition of competence.

The Construction Skills Strategy consultation comprising a number of industry and nation-wide groups focused on six main areas to include:

  • Apprenticeships
  • Competence
  • Card Schemes
  • Management & Supervision
  • Low Carbon
  • Careers Development

Purpose of the Skills Strategy

This Skills Strategy touches remits and areas of work for CITB and the SSC Construction Skills, and relates to the whole UK construction sector.

Across all UK industries, employers and employees are saying they need enhanced skills and knowledge in order to do their jobs more effectively and to make their businesses more profitable in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Rather than just focus on qualifications people consider the overall priority as not only the formal training they need but on the skills they develop and need throughout their working lives and for that reason we have elected to call this the "Construction Skills Strategy ".

It sets our intentions for the next five years in terms of strategic direction to ensure the industry has the right skills at the right time in the right place.

Strategic Objectives

Following a robust consultation the following ten Strategic Objectives have been set by industry as priority:

  • Lay the Foundations
  • Promote and embed the new definition of competence, throughout the construction and built environment industries and within education and training provision
  • Promote the concept of the ‘journey to competence’ with an emphasis on continuing development and improvement as a key element of the new competence at all levels of the industry and education and training provision
  • Improve the effectiveness of industry card/certification schemes, ensuring alignment to the new definition of competence
  • Identify and implement more strategic and effective mechanisms for allocating grants, and lobby for funding structures and allocations of public funding to more accurately meet industry needs
  • Improve education and training structures to support the changing nature of the industry and future needs and increase the effectiveness of the industry
  • Promote the industry’s opportunities in order to attract and retain talent from all target groups
  • Significantly improve the effectiveness of, and support for, owner-managers, supervisors and managers
  • Address industry needs for new technologies
  • Continue the drive for a qualified workforce via:
  • quality apprenticeships at all appropriate levels
  • fit for purpose occupational and vocational qualifications that meet industry needs

The research from the Construction Skills Strategy is being used to support the development of the new business activity plans, with the objectives and associated actions being distributed accordingly.

Our contribution to skills and training through our own CITB business plan

Our CITB corporate business plan

The 2014-2016 Business Plan provides an overview of where we will be focusing our efforts and resources, how we will be working and what we intend to achieve over the next three years.

weathered an intense economic storm and is beginning to show signs of recovery. Ensuring the industry has access to the skills it requires for the future is central to enabling this recovery to continue.

Economic conditions, environmental legislation, regulation and new and emerging technologies have created Skills Challenges for the Industry. Our Board have considered these factors and determined how CITB can most effectively help the industry address these skills challenges through our new strategic planning framework.

Our 2014-2016 Business Plan defines how we are focussing our efforts and the industry’s Levy to achieve the outcomes that support our Industry face these challenges.

Our activity has been arranged into four strategic priorities:

  • Strategic Leadership – standard setting, research and influencing in our role as the ‘go to’ body for construction skills and training
  • Image and Recruitment – campaigning and careers advice to inspire talented people to join the construction industry
  • Training and development – training solutions to increase the capability of the existing construction workforce
  • Industry Engagement – business support to enable the construction industry to be efficient and effective.

Supported by our running the business activities; Charitable Trading and Corporate Services, which seek to maximise the value we provide to industry by offsetting our costs and ensuring we are transparent, efficient and effective.

Through the Employer and Stakeholder Survey we have engaged the industry on our strategic priorities and we have received positive feedback, showing that they resonate especially with employers.

In our 50th Year of making positive contributions to our Industry and as we navigate reviews from Government – our business plan sets our stall for how we will continue to contribute over the coming years.

VERCIDA contact banner

Want to feature your organisation in our support directory?

Contact Vercida

Thank you for registering on VERCIDA - the leading job site for companies that are passionate about diversity and inclusion.

  • Check out our client profiles to get the latest on their DE&I credentials
  • Look out for client benefits next to all our job specs
  • Sign up for job alerts to keep up to date on new roles as they come in
  • Search 1000s of roles from the biggest brands

Please proceed to the next step. If you are unable to complete the next stage of application please use the contact form HERE.

You will receive an email with link to reset your password.

Enter your new password