CITB NI: Skills and competency in local construction sector

For 60 years, CITB NI has been at the forefront of identifying the skills and training needs for Northern Ireland’s construction industry and shaping the sector’s growth and development.

With this longstanding commitment to the industry, CITB NI’s role is more crucial than ever as the latest Construction Skills Network Labour Market Intelligence Report (2024-2028) forecasts a 2.8% annual growth in construction, with an additional 5,200 workers needed by 2028 to meet industry demand.

CITB NI aims to meet this need by supporting key training initiatives and encouraging the continued development of a skilled workforce capable of meeting the evolving demands of the industry. All these initiatives are designed specifically to upskill the workforce, promote diversity, and inspire the next generation of professionals to build rewarding careers in construction.

Last year alone, the organisation provided £2 million in training grants to a range of Northern Ireland construction companies and over 2000 individuals were trained in health and safety courses. Alongside this CITB NI continued to showcase construction as a rewarding career option for young people and over the last eight years has supported 1,200 apprentices with apprenticeship grants. In 2024 CITB NI partnered with South West College to host the SkillBuild NI Regional Competition and also held the third Women in Construction Summit in Belfast to support women working in the sector. Through Training in Partnership Funding CITB NI supported organisations such as NIACRO, Women’s Tec and Ulster University on specific construction related training initiatives.

Building on this partnership approach, CITB NI has continued to work with the Department for Communities Historic Environment Division, to deliver a new Heritage Project which will not only preserve, develop, and deliver heritage skills supply and training in Northern Ireland but will seek to unlock the potential of developing future jobs and employment in the construction sector. This partnership will also help raise awareness of our built heritage, the heritage skills required and promote the preservation and development of traditional crafts and skills.

A collaborative industry-driven approach is at the heart of CITB NI’s strategy for developing training and skills solutions. Looking ahead, priority areas for development include strengthening the current workforce while developing new entrants with skills to face both anticipated and unforeseen challenges and exploring areas such as digital construction, emerging technologies, sustainability, Governmental direction and a review of training interventions to support the industry in the most efficient and effective way possible.

For further information on how CITB NI can help you and your company with construction training visit www.citbni.org.uk, like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CITBNorthernIreland or follow the discussion on Twitter @CITBNI, Instagram @citbni1 and LinkedIn http://linkd.in/1GBeyLf

CITB NI
Nutts Corner Training Centre
17 Dundrod Road
Crumlin, Co Antrim, BT29 4SR
T: 028 9082 5466
E: info@citbni.org.uk