Amid an unpredictable landscape, CITB said it will focus on a smaller number of priorities to help modernise construction and increase productivity, collaborating with industry, governments and Further Education (FE). As well as providing direct support to employers, CITB will use this period to help fix the system, making it easier to recruit workers into the industry and to access training.

In Scotland, CITB will work with partners to ensure the joint industry and government Scottish Construction Recovery Plan has skills and workforce development at the heart of industry recovery over the coming years.

CITB will work with Skills Development Scotland and the Developing the Young Workforce network to promote My World Of Work and Marketplace, showcasing the construction industry to potential recruits.

In Scottish schools, CITB will collaborate with the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Apprentice Network, while working with more than 300 SDS careers advisers. The link between training and job-readiness will be strengthened by supporting a total of 8,000 FE learners will be supported into work experience across Britain, with 1,600 of these targeted to begin apprenticeships.

Between 2021 and 2025, the CITB levy will be invested across Britain to:

• Support 28,000 taster experiences of construction and in Go Construct to help potential new entrants understand the opportunities in construction and how to access them
• Give 19,000 people onsite experience to prepare them to start work in construction through onsite hubs
• Create a new pathway between Further Education and employment available to 8,000 learners, including 1,600 apprenticeship starts as well as more learners starting jobs in construction
• Raise the share of apprentices completing their programmes from 60% to 70% through allocating £110m to support learners and employers on top of grant support
• Help employers to invest in training initially to rebuild after the pandemic but increasingly to modernise and raise productivity through the Grants Scheme and other funding. This will see over £500m (77% of levy) of funding to employers
• Support employers to modernise by identifying the key competencies required, including those that support digitalisation.

As the recovery strengthens, funding will return to supporting productivity and innovation. Defined digital competencies will also drive standardised education, align training with employer needs, and enable competence assessment.

Sarah Beale, CITB chief executive, said: “The recovery presents construction with big challenges but also major opportunities to do things differently and bring a wider range of new workers into the industry.  

“Our Strategic Plan will support employers to realise these opportunities by helping fix the system that brings people into work and supporting them to do the training they need.

“We will focus on a small number of areas such as providing new entrants with information and experiences, creating a new pathway from Further Education into apprenticeships and a job, and boosting the numbers of apprentices completing their programmes.

“We will also help employers to train by addressing gaps in provision, making training accessible and targeting funding where it’s needed, including through the Grants Scheme.

“Over time, a greater share of this will support employers to modernise and raise productivity.”

Tony Elliott is group HR director for Robertson Group, and a former chair of CITB’s Scotland National Council, who has recently joined the CITB Board as a Trustee.

He said: “Scottish construction has undergone unprecedented change this year, and CITB’s Strategic Plan rightly champions different organisations working together to address the recruitment and skills issues that the industry will continue to face. Our sector can offer a bright future in varied and rewarding careers for Scotland’s young people just when they need this most.”           

The plan was developed during discussions this summer with industry representatives, and CITB Board and Nation Council members, chiefly made up of employers.