Letter from CITB
Dear Convenor
I am writing regarding the evidence and follow up information provided by the Scottish Building Federation (SBF) in response to the Committee’s work on skills alignment with business needs, to provide further information and clarity, which may be of assistance to the Committee.
CITB is the Industrial Training Board for the construction industry in Great Britain. CITB is working to ensure that construction employers have the right skills, in the right place, at the right time by investing funds and providing a wide range of industry-led skills and training solutions. It does this through employer engagement in training, providing labour market insights on future skills needs, and developing standards and qualifications for the sector. CITB is governed by both a Board of Trustees and a Scotland Nation Council, with members of the Scotland Council being Scottish construction employers.
Further to the views provided to the Committee by the SBF during the evidence session and subsequent written submission, CITB Scotland is pleased to provide the following clarifications.
The issue of registration bodies is outwith the direct scope of CITB. Should there be demand from employers to be part of registration bodies, CITB would of course assist in any way it could within the remit of its statutory scope order.
CITB developed the Modern Apprenticeship framework in consultation with employers, which was subsequently approved by the Modern Apprenticeship Group, latterly the Apprenticeship Approvals Group. CITB remains a key stakeholder for this group.
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns across Scotland resulted in candidates being unable to provide workplace evidence for their portfolios. These limitations were compounded by feedback from industry that apprentices should only sit their skills test on completion of the SVQ, as well as a shortage of construction assessors. In partnership with the Scottish Government, SQA, the Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) and Federations, CITB has developed a solution for apprentices registered in 2017 who are unable gather all the evidence for their SVQ, and were therefore unable to complete in 2021. This is being rolled out and reviewed with scope
to modify and will be used to learn lessons for the existing apprentices who are coming behind the current cohort. The breadth of the qualification content is also challenging, which has been accepted by the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland.
CITB has provided funding and is working in partnership with ESP, 24 Scottish colleges, government agencies, and private training providers to recruit and train 150 high quality assessors for the construction industry in Scotland. During the pandemic, CITB also worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to address the backlog of CITB Health, Safety and Environment tests, supporting the construction industry with a skilled and safety compliant workforce.
CITB delivers 32% of the construction sector Managing Agencies in Scotland. There are 64 registered Managing Agencies made up of employers, colleges, private training providers and specialists. Although some areas have opted out of CITB’s supply chain, CITB maintains good working relationships with the employers and colleges to ensure growth and that grants are fulfilled. A single managed agency would prove challenging in terms of logistics; resources; quality control; and learner diversity. This is not something that CITB is in a position to look at within the immediate future.
CITB is supporting Skills Development Scotland with its programme of apprenticeship development which will review and refresh Scottish apprenticeship frameworks through a new, employer-led approach. The process will change the existing system of apprenticeship development and delivery, allowing employers to take ownership of the design and construction of apprenticeships to ensure they are relevant, adaptable, and create the skills they need. CITB Scotland has referred recently completed and final year apprentices into the development process, to ensure that the views of apprentices and industry are represented. CITB will continue to facilitate industry engagement with apprenticeships through the new Scottish Government Task Force to which the Scottish Government has asked it to provide the Secretariat.
I hope these clarifications are helpful to the Committee in the context of its work on skills alignment with business needs. CITB would be pleased to support the Committee with additional data, research, and engagement with construction employers in the course of its work.
Yours sincerely,