CITB’s Lockdown Plan and End of Year Review

Leaving lockdown 

As Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease to an end, CITB are clarifying how they'll be returning to face-to-face engagement with you. 

CITB are already able to hold apprentice reviews outside where required, and National Construction Colleges are open with a program of COVID-19 testing to keep learners and the team safe, they are also continuing to deliver learning remotely, with office staff working from home too. 

From Monday 17 May CITB will be holding more apprentice reviews, meeting employers (with limited numbers), and rolling out more on-site teaching. They'll continue remote learning and working, but there will be the opportunity to start delivering this in person for specific courses. 

From Monday 21 June all apprentice reviews can be delivered in person but can also be remote if that is a better option, they expect up to 30 people can attend events, remote learning and working will still be encouraged. They’ll have a more open programme of learning at the colleges, and while CITB's offices will reopen, they're currently discussing with colleagues how best to combine home and office working.  

End of year performance review 

CITB's end-of-year performance review showed how they responded swiftly to the Covid-19 pandemic to support the industry. The first three months saw:

• suspend Levy collection as businesses faced critical cash challenges.
• offer an advanced apprenticeship grant which saw £3.4 million paid to over 2,000 employers.
• provide e-learning and remote working, with remote learning and new courses ensuring qualifications were not a barrier to returning to work.
• offer Covid-19 support which saw 21,800 people complete the pandemic health and safety eCourse

As few as 248 out of 11,000 CITB’s apprentices were made redundant during the pandemic, underlining the commitment showed by employers, which CITB have supported. CITB has been able to place more than half of these with alternative employers or get them to completion, and they continue to support others to restart their apprenticeship. CITB grants have supported 23,322 apprentices and 8,883 employers.  

Go Construct continued to direct more people to our industry, surpassing four of its five targets with 671,656 people visiting its channels, including social media. Website improvements saw 416,932 new visitors – 75% above what was forecast.  

You can read the full review by clicking here.