Members of the National Association of Shopfitters and Interior Contractors (NAS) have voted to support the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) Levy proposals for 2022 to 2025.
64% of eligible NAS members voted as part of the Consensus process, with 60% of voters in support for the CITB’s proposals. It now remains to be seen whether the broader construction sector will show similar support, when the other 13 Prescribed Organisations return their member’s views, alongside the 4,000 businesses independently surveyed. If a consensus is achieved the proposals will see a continuation of pre-COVID Levy rates, as assessed in 2018 – 2020.
The CITB Consensus process takes place every three years and when it was last completed in 2017, the CITB had greater than 70% support from both Prescribed Organisations and employers. The NAS’ results suggest a narrowing of that support, which is unsurprising given some of the very public opposition to the CITB and the lingering questions around value for the Levy invested.
In 2020, NAS members were assessed by the CITB as contributing almost £590,000 in Levy, but with circa £415,000 being returned through grants (70% of the overall investment), it is clear that the Levy does not currently represent good value for the sector. This needs to change and the NAS will be working hard, on behalf of its members, to ensure it does.
