New research blasts CITB’s training for SMEs

The CITB has “little or no impact” in providing training to SMEs, new research has claimed.

An independent survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of audit and contract service business Hudson Contract found that only 9% of SMEs said they received CITB funding for training employees. And of that 9%, only half received the full cost of training.

Among the 500 construction companies that were questioned during the research, it was also found that 60% of levy payers provided training without CITB grant funding.

Hudson said that, despite its collecting almost £200m in levy from the sector, the research showed the CITB is “increasingly irrelevant” to an industry striving for growth

It added that SMEs pay twice as much levy as larger firms in the sector, yet have less power to influence the CITB.

Ian Anfield, managing director of Hudson Contract, said: “Despite spending millions on websites, roadshows and PR, the CITB’s influence on training provision is negligible. In reality, the CITB is a hapless bystander while SMEs get on with the day job. More and more stakeholders are questioning whether there is a need for a levy and grant system at all.  This needs an answer.”

Further results from the research revealed:

• More than half of the firms interviewed had either no knowledge or no opinion of the CITB levy’s effectiveness in ensuring training and skills development.
• 71% said the possibility of a CITB grant to cover training did not influence decisions to send workers on a training course; and a mere 2% said a CITB grant was the main reason for training.
• 38% of firms would continue training even without the possibility of a levy grant.

Anfield said analysis of the CITB’s own accounts showed that large businesses received a 92% return on their levy payment, whereas small and micro-sized businesses received 61% and 52% respectively.

Of those who said that they found it difficult to claim back grants, 55% said that the reason for this is that they do not have an administrator to support them, while 50% said the process is too complicated.

Steve Radley, director of policy at CITB, said: “The Hudson’s survey highlights some important issues, which we have already acknowledged and are addressing. We are working closely with our industry to design a new grants scheme that helps construction meet its skill needs and to ensure smaller firms get the support that they need.

“As a first step, we’ve already worked with employers to design and launch a new Skills and Training Fund to give project funding of up to £5,000 for employers with less than 50 employees. Over the last 12 months, 442 small, medium and micro-sized firms have collectively received £1.9m in training funding, and their feedback has been very positive.

“We know that we need to make our support much more accessible to firms of all sizes. At the same time, the Hudson’s survey, which includes only a small number of actual levy payers, doesn’t tells us the whole story.     

“Our own independent research, based on a much larger sampler of levy registered employers shows that 72% of employers consider the CITB Levy is important for the industry. In addition 63% of employers (and 71% of small firms) think that if CITB did not exist, training levels would drop and fewer apprentices would be recruited.”