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£233m Investment in Construction by CITB

21st June 2022

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) announced in May that it would be investing an astounding £233m throughout 2022/23 to support British construction.

CITB invests £233m in construction industry

The investment is in response to the industry’s estimated demand for 50,000 additional workers year on year and will focus on securing construction’s talent pipeline. To achieve this, CITB will be running a number of initiatives throughout the year with the aim to inspire people to choose a career in the construction industry, as well as upskilling existing talent.

CITB has set out the following challenges:

  • Responding to the skills demand
  • Developing the capacity & capability of construction training provision
  • Addressing future skills needs

With the construction industry changing at a rapid pace as it aims to adopt modern construction methods, working towards net zero and utilising new technologies, this investment marks an exciting yet challenging time for construction businesses and professionals throughout the UK.

CITB’s full plan for 2022/23 can here found here.

Speaking of CITB’s plans, Chief Executive Tim Balcon, has said:

“I am proud to be sharing my first business plan as Chief Executive at CITB, which sets out how CITB will approach its role in supporting the industry going forwards.

While progress has been made, the construction industry has faced significant challenges in recent years, including inflation, rising fuel prices, the pandemic and Brexit, to name a few. In many ways the industry is still experiencing and feeling the impact of these events, which we know has shifted priorities greatly and pushed the demand for skills to the forefront. It’s essential now more than ever that efforts are focused on helping to alleviate those pressures and address the key needs of the industry.”

Dave Randles, SIMIAN’s Operations Director added:

“The Skills shortage is nothing new to the construction industry, and in particular the scaffolding sector. Industry research frequently identifies scaffolding as being one of the top three ‘in-demand trades’, and virtually every conversation that I have with scaffolding business owners confirms this to be the case, as most are struggling to recruit skilled workers.

CITB’s announcement is good news for the sector, particularly given the current economic situation, and we are looking forward to playing our part in filling the gaps that have been decades in the making, through long-term under investment in training and the departure of workers caused by BREXIT.

The expansion of our portfolio of Construction Apprenticeships, the addition of training in modern methods of construction and green energy skills training are just two of the initiatives we have planned.”

For more information on SIMIAN training, please get in touch on 0345 6022 418 or via hello@simian-risk.com.