Following a vote of the FIS membership on the level of money proposed to be collected for the construction industry levy by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), FIS has voted against the CITB proposal.

The Construction Industry Levy is collected and distributed by CITB in a process governed by the Industrial Training Act.  FIS, as a CITB Prescribed Organisation according to the Act, are required to consult with Levy paying members of FIS through the defined process and respond collectively on their behalf.

The future collection levels proposed by CITB were:

  • 0.35% on PAYE staff
  • 1.25% on Net paid (taxable) CIS sub-contractors

Commenting on the vote FIS CEO Iain McIlwee stated:

“The vote in 2021 was closer than in the 2017 FIS consensus vote, which will be related to the significant increase of FIS members engagement in training and qualifications.  However, we still cannot give our support to the CITB proposal as the response shows that there remains widespread frustration with the performance of CITB.  The sector received grants for approximately 53% of levy paid between April 2019 and April 2020, which is a rise of approximately 20% on previous years, but it still means that a significant proportion of the levy collected is not utilised by or supporting those that are paying it.

We will await the final verdict in October and in the meantime will continue focus all of our efforts on working to support members in utilising levy paid through our one to one clinics and working collectively to address the profound skills shortage that is impacting our sector.”

Paul Leach Chair of the FIS Skills Board said:

“FIS has pulled out the stops to give everyone eligible a chance to have their say on this years consensus vote.  It was a close vote, within single figures and the views of members have been reported as stated.  It is testament to the support provided by FIS that there is a clear increase in the engagement of all members in skills, training and qualifications.”

Across the wider sector, Build UK has confirmed that after surveying its members, a majority confirmed their support for the continuation of the CITB Levy.

Build UK acknowledged that the level of support during this Consensus process was significantly lower than in previous years and added that it is clear that construction needs an Industry Training Board that is fit for purpose, responsive and effective at delivering the services and support required to meet the industry’s skills needs, and that members are not prepared to wait another three years to see fundamental changes in CITB’s delivery in order to fulfil this role.

The overall outcome of the consensus process is expected to be communicated by CITB to the industry after consultation with government by October 2021.

For further information on how FIS is supporting the sector in skills, click here.