CITB Faces Backlash Following Funding Overhaul

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is facing mounting scrutiny after the resignation of a Funding Committee member coincided with sweeping cuts to its training support programmes.

Mike Wharton resigned on Monday 8 December—just hours after CITB announced major funding changes that will take effect from 8 January.

Under the new approach, CITB will withdraw all funding for short courses, require employers to apply for support exclusively through Employer Networks removing training groups from the process, cut match funding to 50%, end all Level 7 and attendance grants, and reduce achievement grants to £600.

A CITB spokesperson offered a brief, neutral response: “We respect Mike’s decision and would like to thank him for the support and service he has given to CITB as a committee member.”

Behind the scenes, however, his exit has intensified a growing suspicion across the sector: Is CITB facing a real financial crisis, or is the organisation reshaping its priorities under a narrative that doesn’t quite add up?

Shifting Strategy: The Rise of Employer Networks

CITB has positioned the cuts as a consequence of growing demand. The organisation says it has seen a 36% rise in employers using its services over the past four years—growth it attributes to the “success of initiatives like Employer Networks and the New Entrant Support Team (NEST).”

However, CITB later clarified that this surge stems from “multiple initiatives” rather than Employer Networks and NEST alone. Despite this broader explanation, the new funding model funnels all future applications through Employer Networks, effectively closing down long-standing training groups and other routes previously available to employers.

This has raised questions across the industry—not only about the practicality of relying on a single channel, but also about the figures CITB is using to justify the shift.

The Numbers That Don’t Quite Add Up

CITB’s own Annual Report lists 75,832 employers on its Levy and Grant register as of 31 March 2024.

Of those, 15,710 received grants. A 36% rise on that group would mean 5,655 additional employers seeking support.

However, if CITB is referring not to the register but to Employer Network engagement in 2024–25—recorded at 4,033 employers—then the 36% increase is far smaller: 1,451.

Which baseline is CITB using? It hasn’t said.

Across the industry, that uncertainty is fuelling mistrust. As one contractor put it: “If more employers are using CITB support, doesn’t that mean more levy-paying employers as well? Has that been taken into account?”

For now, no one has the answer.

Sudden Strategy Shifts

This isn’t the first time CITB has been accused of sudden and unpredictable policy shifts. Funding rules have changed repeatedly in recent years, often with little lead time for employers planning training budgets months ahead.

On Monday, even CITB Chief Executive Tim Balcon acknowledged the disruption, apologising for giving employers such little warning before the latest cuts.

With short courses unfunded, achievement grants reduced, and key grant types eliminated, many employers say their training programmes are now financially unviable.

Some fear the sudden changes risk accelerating skills shortages — the problem CITB exists to prevent.

Reserves of £95 Million—and Still Cutting Training

Balcon says the cuts are necessary to avoid dipping into CITB’s financial reserves. But that claim sits uneasily beside the actual numbers.

According to the 2024 Annual Report:

• Reserves stood at £95.2m on 31 March 2024—£55m higher than the reserve floor of £40m
• And £4.4m higher than CITB had forecast.
• The board’s business plan is already to reduce the reserve by £29.5m by 2027.

In other words: CITB has a large reserve, expects that reserve to shrink, and still insists it cannot afford current funding levels.

To many, it’s an uncomfortable contrast: a well-resourced organisation with nearly £100m in reserves choosing to make cuts that hit training providers and employers with almost immediate effect.

CITB reports that the Employer Networks it is now relying on exclusively cost a modest £1.43 million in 2024–25.

Yet it requires a large internal workforce to run: 78 advisers dedicating nearly half their time to the networks, plus 12 full-time booking staff and additional short-term support staff.

The Central Unanswered Question

Strip away the press releases, the shifting figures, and the polite resignation notices, and one fundamental question remains:

Is CITB really under financial strain — or is it restructuring the industry around Employer Networks exclusively employing CITB staff while using “budget pressure” as a cover?

Why is it consolidating all training access into one of its most expensive internal costs (its staff)?

Why eliminate external training groups — which cost far less — instead of reforming or integrating them?

Until CITB provides consistent data and transparent reasoning, the industry is left to piece together clues, question statistics, and speculate about internal motivations.

For now, what remains clear is the UK construction sector is being asked to adapt to a radically reshaped training system — at short notice, with reduced funding, and without a clear explanation of why the change is necessary.

Many in the industry are left wondering if the cuts are driven by financial necessity, or by a strategic pivot that CITB prefers not to explain?

>> Read more about CITB funding cuts in the news