CITB net zero training push: key skills takeaways for UK project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
CITB is using its Industry Impact Fund to back employer-led net zero training, including Balfour Beatty’s accredited Low Carbon Passport Programme, which is free to enrol and runs UK-wide until November 2026 to address shortages in low‑carbon construction skills. Berkeley Group’s two-year Future Workforce project with the Supply Chain Sustainability School is producing free, bite-sized digital resources for at least three years to help colleges and SMEs deliver and access net zero skills. Donaldson Timber Systems’ Timber in Construction 101 will offer over 15 fully funded modules from introductory to advanced technical timber construction training.
Technical Brief
- CITB’s Industry Impact Fund ringfences one of six core funding categories specifically for net zero skills.
- Balfour Beatty’s Low Carbon Passport is an accredited qualification, not just CPD, giving formal skills recognition.
- Courses under the Low Carbon Passport are explicitly targeted at both experienced professionals and new entrants to construction.
- Balfour Beatty is the official sponsor of Net Zero Week 2026, aligning the Passport with that national campaign.
- Berkeley Group’s Future Workforce project is structured as a two‑year development phase, followed by at least three years’ free access.
- Future Workforce outputs include short videos, animations and tailored training sessions aimed at FE colleges and SMEs.
- Donaldson Timber Systems’ Timber in Construction 101 was formally launched at Futurebuild in May this year.
- Timber in Construction 101 is designed to connect industry and academia, targeting professionals, apprentices and college students together.
Our Take
CITB’s focus on the Low Carbon Passport Programme and Timber in Construction 101 sits alongside its recent £120m 2024/25 grant allocation, signalling that net-zero skills are being embedded into the same funding architecture that already supports tens of thousands of apprentices and small employers in the UK.
The two‑year Future Workforce project aligns with CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook 2026–30, which flags net labour losses; this suggests the net-zero training push is as much about replacing retiring trades with low‑carbon‑literate entrants as it is about upskilling the existing workforce.
With Balfour Beatty sponsoring Net Zero Week 2026 and major housebuilders like Berkeley Group involved, these CITB initiatives are likely to influence Tier 1 contractor and volume housing supply chains, particularly around timber systems where Donaldson Timber Systems and the Supply Chain Sustainability School are already active.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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