News
CITB NI are evolving, celebrating 50 years supporting the local construction industry.
The Construction Industry Training Board, established in 1964 are celebrating 50 years of leading the way in identifying the skills and training needs of the local construction industry. The organisation has changed significantly over the past 5 decades and has served the industry during both the high boom times and the low recessional times. With this in mind the organisation, more recently known as CITB-ConstructionSkills NI will now revert back to its original trading name, CITB NI in order to help celebrate the successes of the past 50 years and also reflect better the work with local employers
Barry Neilson, Chief Executive, CITB NI said, “Our 50th Anniversary is quite an achievement and we are proud to have supported the development of our most valuable resource, our people during this time. Over recent years we have concentrated our efforts on supporting the industry to help it survive the economic downturn. We have worked with the sector to improve their capabilities in strategic planning and performance improvement at senior management level whilst also working to develop a qualified workforce at craft level. The economy in NI is levelling out and we are looking forward to the future with a confident and more capable workforce able to embrace the opportunities arising as our industry regenerates.”
“We may be changing our name but we are not changing our organisation, we will continue to work in partnership with CITB in Great Britain and the Construction Industry Council as ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for Construction. As an Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council our vision is to have a construction industry were skills and competence are at the core of every business plan and a training culture where skills are at the heart of each construction company, no matter how large or small.”
Over the past 50 years the construction industry has changed dramatically with significant changes to local city skylines, technology and construction methods.
Barry continued, “Construction is a historic industry. It has built our homes, our hospitals, our schools, our roads, our railways, our workplaces, our airports, our greatest cathedrals and historic buildings. These buildings and landmarks that have been developed will be here long after the construction process has been completed they have allowing us to make our mark on the landscape. Looking forward to the next 50 years CITB NI will continue to support the industry in developing the people it needs to meet the challenges now and in the future.”
“We will continue to develop new interventions and programs focusing on Apprenticeships and Leadership within the sector to ensure the industry has the skills to deliver and the strategic management to do so efficiently and economically. We will also address skills development in specialist areas such as heritage and sustainable construction methods in order to assist with opportunities that may arise in these sectors and we will continue to work closely with industry partners, stakeholders and Government to ensure a qualified and competent industry to ensure growth is sustained over the long-term.”