CITB colleges to lose £32.7m over next four years

The new CITB business plan shows that the two training centres being retained in Glasgow and Norfolk will cost £65.5m to run over the next four years and bring in only £32.4m of income.

This means that the organisation will lose £32.7m over four years, on a fully absorbed overhead basis.

The CITB business plan for April 2021 to March 2025 was first published last September. But that was based on the premise that the National Construction Colleges at Bircham Newton in Norfolk and Inchinnan in Glasgow were being sold. However, no buyer could be found and so the CITB is keeping ownership to ensure the provision of key training  – notably scaffolding and plant operating – remains available to the industry.

The U-turn on providing direct training meant that the business plan had to be revisited.

Other headline changes include a 14% increase in overall investment/expenditure compared with the business plan compared with six months ago. Now, total investment/expenditure for 2021-25 is budgeted to be £895m (compared to £783m in the September 2020 plan).

The new business plan also revises the levy collection cost from 4.2% of total levy collected to 5%. The cost of levy collection as a percentage has gone up because it is largely a fixed cost, but the levy has gone down.

CITB chief executive Sarah Beale said: “This business plan is based on listening to the industry and investing in what it has told us is important to it. As promised, we’re targeting levy at fewer initiatives to ensure industry funds work hard and tackle priority issues. The plan strikes the right balance between employers’ current needs and future skills challenges.

“We will continue to work in partnership with industry to help attract talent and make it easier for new entrants to join, while giving employers the right support and access to training to upskill their people and retain vital skills. This work will put construction in a strong position to grow, improve productivity and become an inclusive, even-more-rewarding sector in which to develop a career.”

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