CITB CEO hands in her notice

Sarah Beale, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), has given notice of her resignation.

She will leave the CITB in September 2021, having served as its chief executive officer since January 2017. Sarah has also previously held a number of senior leadership positions at the organisation over the past 16 years.

The long notice period is to ensure the stability of the organisation “through these challenging times”, a statement from the CITB said.

As chief executive, Sarah has led the training body through a major transformation programme, Vision 2020. It saw CITB shift from direct provision of a range of commercial services, towards delivering strategic outcomes for the whole construction industry. This was achieved through improving influence at government level, introducing a new governance structure, and increasing the return and impact from the Levy.

Sarah played a pivotal role in protecting hundreds of apprentices who had lost their jobs due to the collapse of Carillion in January 2018. This year she led a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, making a series of difficult decisions, which have been welcomed by industry – protecting apprenticeships and prioritising direct funding for employers, while helping businesses’ cash flow by agreeing an unprecedented ‘Levy holiday’.  

Peter Lauener, chair of CITB, said: “Sarah has been a superb chief executive for CITB, serving the industry’s skills needs with dedication, and making us a stronger and more effective organisation in the process. 

“Thanks to Sarah’s work, and that of her senior team, the board and I can remain confident in CITB’s commitment and ability to deliver the new strategic plan, and to achieve industry endorsement of our approach in the consensus process we expect to run next year.

“We wish Sarah well for the future – whatever she does, and we know that she will bring the unique mix of energy, enthusiasm and expertise to bear, which makes her such an effective leader.”

Sarah said: “It has been an honour to lead CITB. A part of me will always stay in this great organisation, which is full of brilliant people making a real difference to people’s lives and careers, as well as supporting construction employers across Great Britain.

“I’m proud of the work we have done together, and our record of delivery. It will be tough to leave after 16 fantastic years, but right now I’m focused on delivering our Skills Stability Plan, including seeing through internal changes and setting up CITB to deliver beyond that, before taking a breather and identifying a new career challenge.”