The trade body for fit out specialists, the Finishes & Interiors Sector (FIS), has rejected the current Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) levy proposal.
The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) and the Scottish Decorators’ Federation (SDF) have also voted against the training board.
However, the CITB is likely to achieve the 50% it needs to survive the current consensus process after Build UK, which represents in excess of 40% of the construction industry, approved the proposal last Thursday.
FIS became a CITB Consensus federation for the first time this year and conducted its first survey of members on the future of the levy in September. A total of 60% voted to reject the proposal.
The organisation said: “There are some important lessons to be learned from our members rejecting the levy proposal. Firstly, it is clear that CITB is not serving the interests of members, with only 35p in the pound paid in levy being returned to members, despite a growing skills problem in the sector. For this reason FIS has backed Build UK’s urgent call for reform of CITB.
“Secondly, it is evident that SMEs are not engaging with training and skills because of the complexity of the process and the perceived cost of training.
“We will continue to work with CITB and training providers to make this process as ‘frictionless’ as possible for contractors. Initiatives such as Coursesight, which allows you to book courses, receive CITB grant payments and updates the CSCS card automatically will continue to be promoted.”
The SBF rejection of the levy proposal was more emphatic. More than two thirds of members responding to the federation’s consultation voted against the CITB’s proposition while 89% of responding SDF members also rejected the offering.
However, the body said that 94% of respondents to a supplementary question about the general management of the levy “would be more inclined to support a continuation of the current levy and grant system if action were taken to make the governance and operation of CITB more accountable to Scottish levy payers”.
SBF managing director Vaughan Hart said: “SBF members voted by a factor of two to one to reject CITB’s proposals with feedback from levy payers in Scotland, suggesting that industry employers feel increasingly marginalised and overlooked.
“Time and again, levy payers cited the recent CITB imposed deregulation and dilution of Scotland’s proud craft apprenticeships as a symptom of the systematic failure and lack of transparency in CITB’s current governance and operational arrangements.”
Ian Rogers, chief executive of the SDF, said: “This overwhelming vote against consensus shows the level of dissatisfaction with CITB in Scotland. The way they have conducted themselves recently over qualifications and standards and their treatment of the Scottish Registration bodies has left many levy payers appalled.
“In the past, CITB were seen as a force for good and an ally to our industry. As a result of cost cutting and refusing to listen and act on the wishes of the Scottish industry, they now find themselves in this regrettable position.
“There is a short window of opportunity for CITB to retrieve the situation which I would urge them to grasp. They need to be more open and accountable, to be more transparent and to offer Scotland a more devolved Scottish CITB.”
