Covid-19: CITB chief exec update – 9 June 2020

Good afternoon,

I hope you’re having a good week. Today’s email includes news of the re-opening of the National Construction Colleges (NCCs) in England and opening of additional testing centres.

There is also an update on the available contacts within our Partnerships Team, should employers need support whist we have colleagues furloughed at the moment.  

National Construction Colleges (NCCs) in England to re-open and resume face-to-face training in July

CITB has been carefully monitoring the evolving COVID-19 position and the information which is being regularly issued from the UK Government. Based on the guidance which has recently been made available, the NCCs at Bircham Newton, Erith and Kings Norton have made the decision to re-start face-to-face training in England.

Our priority will continue to be learner and colleague safety, therefore we will start to deliver training through a phased approach, with pilot courses initially being offered from July onwards. We will continue to monitor and review our procedures to ensure that the appropriate level of safety is maintained.

For NCC apprentices, we will be making direct contact with them in the coming weeks to confirm the restart of their learning. 

For those looking to train at our Inchinnan training centre in Scotland, we are still continuing to monitor the Scottish Government advice and will provide further updates, but for now the college remains closed.

 For more information about the reopening of NCC centres, please call the team on 0344 994 4433.

Testing centres

All Pearson Professional Centres in England delivering the Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test have re-opened with the relevant social distancing precautions and safety measures in place, details of which can be seen here.

A total of 67 Internet Test Centres (ITCs) have also resumed testing in England, having implemented the relevant measures.

We are aware that a number of training providers have resumed offering face-to-face training in England whilst adhering to the relevant COVID-19 Government guidelines.

CITB and partner organisations continue to act in line with the Scottish and Welsh governments’ COVID-19 regulations and guidance.

Partnerships team – who to contact

We are trying to balance wherever possible the customer service that is required at the moment, with a need to reduce costs, and like many businesses currently, are making use of the Job Retention Scheme whilst demand is low. This will mean that colleagues that you normally deal with may not be available. If your current contact has been furloughed, alternative details will be provided on their Out Of Office email message. We appreciate this isn’t ideal but hope you’ll bear with us, as a higher number of colleagues have recently been furloughed at relatively short notice.

CITB’s COVID-19 Urgent Messages page is refreshed daily and includes updates on the full range of our work.

You can also read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government.

I would like to wish you, your colleagues and family a safe and pleasant week ahead. My next update will be on Thursday.

Kind wishes

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive