CITB Reviews 287

CITB have impressed me a great deal over the last few years. There has been a clear willingness to keep improving the systems and how the work with industry.

I can only provide my experience as a small joinery business owner but the most welcome thing it the proactive approach that seems to be standard.

CITB will now actively reach out and make a phone call to see how things are going. This gives a great opportunity to make sure the paper trail is right and resolve any issues.

Also the website has been given a meaningful update that has made it actually function.

Lastly all good companies/training providers etc are only as good as the team working there. I've found Scott Heyworth to be exceptional to deal with. It's been really refreshing to deal with someone who has a real grip on his brief and how to deliver for the businesses he is supporting.

Took my £99 for health and safety awareness course. downloaded the app to do my test. Test day comes. Apps won't open. Money wasted. Absolute joke. Called them up straight away to be told it's probably my fault. ROBBERS

CITB is the most unprofessional government backed company I’ve ever dealt with, excuse after excuse when payment is due and they’ve been updating their payment structure since November 25 and are still updating it today 25/03/26. I’m fed up with the lot of them absolutely disgraceful.

I have to get a cscs card every 5 years and dread it coming round as I just know its going to be difficult trying to sort out the nonsense they ask you to do,not to mention the £140 they rip you off for a not needed H&S course.

The MAP V10 - awful test

I have been in architecture for over 15 years and worked on sites here and there, and have fully been involved in the site works for the past 6 months. I passed CSCS around 2014 and it was a truly practical test that gave useful knowledge of how to manage risk on site as a worker or somebody who does not actually get involved in the setting up and management of the construction sites. MAP test surely should not even be suitable for the site managers as an expected minimum level of competence.

The answers to most questions just don't make sense. The options for answers are so close that literally any can be picked. Oftentimes, the actual correct answer makes no sense:

'the H&S Exec identifies several elements for health and safety management throughout a project. These have to be underpinned by....'. The correct answer is "an understanding of the profile of risks that the organisation creates or faces'.

What does this even mean? Sorry, I have very good English skills, but this answer makes no sense. In general, the principle of health and safety is to prioritise designing out the risks during the design stage of the project (hence why we have CDM consultants), failing that, the risk is then managed by the construction team.

So how is the answer really relevant? This is not a correct answer, as does not make any sense and is not relevant to the question.

This is just one example. There are dozens of them. While I don't have time to fight the system and I will just learn the answers, not much of the test is actually something I will keep long term in my head, as it is full of useless questions and the answers that have too many words but no meaning.

It is an awful test that you literally just need to remember until you pass.

If we didn't pay CITB levy we would be able to actually afford to send employees on some training!!Absolute day light robbery, they also still owe for the skills and training funding we were approved for (which they have now stopped) and their "systems have changed" therefore 30 days on we are still waiting to be paid.

Absolute rip off, they auto booked the wrong test for me. requested cancelation before 72 hours and didn't provide a full refund minus the £10 admin fee. The staff are very rude and non-cooperative.

Purely online, with lots of free courses on H&S E , but last time,I bought the CITB cscs card and training, 2016 with not alot happening, since 2026 January they did update their systems for new learners, maybe it does make the acknowledgement of safety protocols, easier for folk°!

Vicky Proctor has been by far, the best person i have worked with at CITB. Just for getting stuff done, keeping updated and just so efficient. Over the The apprenticeship she has been brilliant.

I called your line, selected option 1 and I was met with the rudest, most uninterested customer service person called Anna. She doesn't know anything about the apps you offer on the play store, was generally just rude didn't listen to questions, very quick answer. I also asked her about a course CPCS A73, which you no longer offer but it's still on the website. She was very dismissive and it's disappointing that you have someone like that on the front desk.

CITB is a masterclass in how not to support the construction industry.
Even when grants are assessed and approved, they can be withheld with no flexibility, no common sense, and no meaningful explanation beyond stock responses. Communication feels dismissive and scripted, as if the goal is delay rather than resolution.
For an organisation funded by the industry and supposedly there to support training and employers, the approach is punitive, rigid, and out of touch with reality. There is no transparency, no accountability, and no practical way to resolve issues without endless back-and-forth.
If you value clarity, fairness, or efficiency, don’t expect to find it here. An organisation badly in need of reform.

Okay a charge of over a 100 pound to take the test online . So it's easy to Google answers basically 100 percent pass rate then you have to go to a test centre another 25 pound then pay 60 pound for a card . What a complete rip off.

Natalie Sprake has been helping us with our carpentry apprentice enrolments for a few years now, and honestly, she’s brilliant. She’s always there with advice, really supportive, and keeps us updated with grants and funding. She makes everything so easy, and we really appreciate everything she does for us.

Lucy from CITB has been an amazing help in helping us to understand all aspects of what they offer. Her response to any queries is very fast and always helpful.

Lisa Haywood from the NEST Team has provided excellent support to our business. Always on hand to advise us on CITB grants available, enabling our apprenticeship and training programme to run smoothly. Highly recommended.

They were friendly, approachable, very professional and very knowledgeable.

I have always had a great experience with CITB, our advisor Sam Elford is so helpful and assists me with grant and funding applications, apprenticeship info, training enquiries and anything new that CITB introduce. The booking team for new training courses are also really helpful.

NICE TEAM AND NICELY WORK WHOT CITB! NICE PERSON IN THEIR OFFICE HAZEL COOPER BERY KINDLE AND HELPFULLY WHIT PLEASURE PROMPTLY ANSWER AT ANY PROBLEMS!

The team at CITB including Daniel Aitchison were really helpful at sorting out our Levy grant for our apprentice.
Would have been a lot harder for me without them!

Question
Why they are charging people at all when they are collecting billions of pound in Micky mouse tax per year
They should be giving everything for free and giving all training free of charge not only health and safety. The amount of money they are collecting per year is enormous. It makes me sick, another daylight robbery backed by the government. And they are surprised why the people are on the edge.
Most likely I will have to go bankrupt because of their tax. Guess how many apprentices I can get on board?
Big thank you