ECITB training helps workers across engineering construction, such as those that operate on oil rigs

About the ECITB

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) is the employer-led skills, standards and qualifications body for the development of the engineering construction workforce of Great Britain. An arms-length body of the UK Government, the ECITB reports to the Department for Education. Our vision is a trailblazing Engineering Construction Industry where critical infrastructure, energy security and net zero ambitions are achieved.

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What is the engineering construction industry?

The engineering construction industry (ECI) is the cornerstone of Britain’s energy and process industries. ECI companies design, engineer, construct and decommission some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country and overseas – and they will be central to delivering net zero.

Engineering construction operates across the oil and gas, nuclear and renewables sectors, as well as major process industries, such as chemicals, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, pharmaceuticals, food processing, water and waste treatment.

Nuclear

Power generation

Oil & gas

Chemical

Water treatment

Pharmaceutical

Food & drink

Renewables

ECITB training helps provide the engineering construction industry workforce with the specialist skills it needs

What does the ECITB do?

The ECITB works with employers and training providers to attract, develop and qualify the engineering construction workforce in a wide range of craft, technical and professional disciplines. We invest about £28 million each year to support skills development within the industry.

The organisation was established to address a market failure within the industry to provide training to its workforce. The ECITB addresses this market failure through its levy and grant system, which is used to drive up skill levels and fund training that would otherwise not take place.

Along with the education sector, government and employers, we work to ensure the UK has workers with the skills to meet the needs of the engineering construction industry. We design and award a wide range of qualifications, covering craft, technical and managerial disciplines.

We are also responsible for developing and maintaining National Occupational Standards for the industry, which form the basis of our Training Standards, Vocational Qualifications, Technical Tests and Licensed Programmes, delivered by our approved network of ECITB training providers and Approved Centres.

What are the core values of the ECITB?

Knowledgeable

We aspire to be a learning organisation: always building our knowledge and spreading learning through industry.

Collaborative

We strive to listen and work as a team to achieve the best results.

Proactive

We pro-actively seek out and respond to opportunities to address our industry’s training needs.

Respectful

We foster an inclusive environment where everyone’s view is respected, and we are professional, courteous, and kind

ECITB training and qualifications are helping increase the number of welders in industry

How is the ECITB funded?

The ECITB is funded by the industries we serve by way of a statutory training levy. Levy money supports employers to train and upskill their workforce to industry standards. This approach encourages training throughout the industry, with all employers (over a certain size) paying levy and all (irrespective of size) eligible to receive grant for training undertaken. The levy and grant system also means the cost of training is shared more evenly between employers.

Find out more about the Industrial Training Levy

The Industry Training Board Review

The Cabinet Office mandates all public bodies be reviewed periodically. The ITB review assesses the extent to which each Arm’s Length Body (ALB) performs effectively and delivers services that meet the needs of industry.

The latest review, published in January 2025, stressed the vital need for the work of the Industrial Training Boards (ITBs) within the construction and engineering construction industries.

It concluded that the ITB levy-grant model should be retained and the role of the ITBs should be strengthened. The report calls on both the ECITB and CITB to do more.

The Minister of State for Skills, The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, supported many of the recommendations laid out in the report including that the ITB model should be retained.

Among the 17 strategic recommendations, the review proposes that the CITB and ECITB should form a single body. The Government’s position is that while there are significant benefits to greater alignment and collaboration between the two ITBs, there are currently no plans to legislate to create a single body. A steering group will be set up to consider the implementation of all recommendations.

In the meantime, the Minister has requested greater collaboration between the ECITB and CITB on specific areas such as infrastructure across Great Britain, increasing trainers, clean energy jobs and skills passporting.

Read the full article on the ITB review