Following a vote of the FIS membership on the level of money proposed to be collected for the construction industry levy by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), FIS has voted against the CITB proposal.  A full report has been provided to CITB documenting the result and delivering direct feedback from the community.

The Construction Industry Levy is collected and distributed by CITB in a process governed by the Industrial Training Act.  FIS, as a CITB Prescribed Organisation according to the Act, are required to consult with Levy paying members of FIS through the defined process and respond collectively on their behalf.

The proposals for raising and collecting the Levy for the next 3 years (2026 – 2029) were

  • 0.35% on PAYE staff
  • 1.25% on Net paid (taxable) CIS sub-contractors

Employers with an annual wage bill of less than £150k will be exempt and employers with an annual wage bill of between £150k and £500k will receive a 50% deduction on the Levy assessment, meaning employers will only pay the full assessment if their annual wage bill is £500k or above.

FIS Chief Executive Iain McIlwee stated: “This vote is a clear indication that the levy is not working for the majority of our members, that they have not seen enough improvement since the last consensus vote and do not have confidence that the proposed CITB Strategic Plan will do enough to shift the dial.

The skills issue is perhaps the biggest challenge facing construction and any levy designed to alleviate this can only be judged by results.  Members are simply not seeing the flow of people, the availability and quality of qualification provision and access to the wider training they need, particularly to support the high levels of contingent workforce necessitated by procurement practices in the sector.”

FIS is one of 14 consensus organisations and the vote will be considered in line with others.  The overall outcome of the consensus process is expected to be communicated by CITB to the industry after consultation with government over the summer.

Whatever the final outcome, FIS will continue to help members to utilise levy paid where appropriate through the one-to-one FIS Skills Clinics. If any member would like help in understanding what grant claims they are eligible for, Marie Flinter, FIS Skills and Training Advisor will be able to provide support.

For further information or for any questions please contact FIS at info@thefis.org or call 0121 707 0077.