What Is CITB?
CITB is the Construction Industry Training Board, the employer-led skills and standards body for construction in Great Britain. It was set up in 1964, and it runs the health, safety and environment (HS&E) test.
CITB is a charity and a public body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. Construction employers fund it through a levy, and CITB spends that money on training grants, apprenticeships and industry standards. If you work on site, you will most likely meet CITB through the CITB HS&E test. CITB sets the test, and Pearson VUE delivers it at test centres. We are an independent practice site, not CITB.
What does CITB stand for?
CITB stands for the Construction Industry Training Board.
CITB covers construction in Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own board, the Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland (CITB NI). CITB NI is a separate public body, sponsored by the Department for the Economy, and it collects its own levy (Department for the Economy, checked 28 October 2026). You can still sit the CITB HS&E test in Northern Ireland: CITB lists test centres there.
What does CITB do?
CITB is the employer-led and funded skills and standards body for construction in Great Britain. It funds training, promotes construction careers, identifies skills needs and sets standards.
CITB says it uses its levy to:
- support training through grants and funding
- promote construction as a career and offer apprenticeships
- identify skills needs across the construction industry
- develop occupational standards and qualifications
The levy applies to employers "engaged wholly or mainly in construction industry activities" (CITB, What we do, checked 28 October 2026). CITB says it is "required under the Industrial Training Act 1982 to raise and collect a Levy" (CITB levy page). If you are a worker sitting the test, the levy is your employer's business, not yours. CITB also says it maintains construction training standards to "keep Britain building safely". The HS&E test is one way it does that.
Is CITB a government body?
Partly. CITB is a charity and an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions.
That is how GOV.UK describes it (checked 28 October 2026). CITB is not a government department. It is a public body, and a government department sponsors it. GOV.UK also calls it "the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry". CITB was set up in 1964 and is registered charity 264289 in England and Wales (CITB test booking terms, section 1.1).
People also ask whether CITB is mandatory. That has two answers. For employers, CITB says it is "required by law to raise a Levy Assessment on all employers in the construction industry". For workers, CITB says its test is part of the requirement to get a construction industry scheme card (CITB About the HS&E test page).
What is CITB's role in the health, safety and environment test?
CITB owns the HS&E test: it sets the rules, the fee and the pass mark, and Pearson VUE delivers it.
- CITB sets the test. There are three versions: Operatives, Specialist, and Managers and Professionals (MAP). Each has 50 questions in 45 minutes, a pass mark of 45 out of 50 and a fee of £23.50.
- Pearson VUE takes the bookings. You book with Pearson online or on 0344 994 4488, then sit the test at a Pearson Professional Centre or an Internet Test Centre.
- CITB approves Internet Test Centres. CITB defines an ITC as "a centre approved by CITB to provide testing facilities" for tests such as the HS&E test.
After the test, you get a score report, and CITB runs an online check for HS&E test results. For each way to book, read How to Book the CITB Test. Labourers and most entry roles sit the Operatives version, and you can practise the Operatives test on this site.
How is CITB different from Pearson VUE and the card schemes?
CITB runs the test, Pearson VUE delivers it, and the card schemes issue the cards a pass helps you get.
| Organisation | What it does | When you deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| CITB | Owns the HS&E test and lets you check HS&E test results online | When you choose your test and keep your score report |
| Pearson VUE | Takes bookings and runs Pearson Professional Centres for CITB | When you book, reschedule or sit the test |
| Card schemes, such as CSCS, CPCS and CISRS | Issue site cards. CITB sends card questions to the scheme owners | When you apply for your card after a pass |
| ECITB (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) | A separate training board for engineering construction, also sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions | Not for the HS&E test |
Checked against citb.co.uk and GOV.UK, 28 October 2026.
We are none of these. This is an independent practice site. To see where you stand before you book, try a free timed CITB Practice Test: 50 questions, marked at 45 out of 50.