The Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland (CITB NI) was established in 1964 and is a non-departmental public body under the sponsorship of the Department for the Economy. The department works in close partnership with CITB NI but does not fund it.
CITB NI generates its own income from the collection of an annual statutory levy under the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Industry) Order (Northern Ireland). This levy is payable by construction employers with a wage bill over £80k. Importantly, employers who are not eligible to pay the levy because their wage bill is under £80k can still avail of grant funding.
The role of CITB NI is to encourage the training of those employed, or intending to be employed, in the construction industry in Northern Ireland and the majority of income generated is used for training in the industry with a small percentage used for maintenance of premises, business running costs and staff salaries.
CITB NI operates a grant payment system:
- Tier 1 - direct grant funding direct to employers
- Tiers 2 and 3 - "Training in Partnership" grant funding which focusses on skills/ training that the industry identifies as hard to acquire, not available or strategically important.
CITB NI delivers training in partnership with a wide selection of construction industry employers/ bodies each with their own needs and requirements. It also carries out research and development as required.
Current legislation means CITB NI can only support training for Northern Ireland employers undertaking construction work in Northern Ireland. It cannot support Northern Ireland employers working in Great Britain.
CITB NI’s work aligns to Northern Ireland's Draft Programme for Government and DfE’s Industrial and Skills Strategies.
More detailed information by be found on the CITB NI website.