§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for Northern Ireland to follow practice in Great Britain with respect to the sectoral skills support for the construction industry through merging the support services relating to electrical, plumbing and building services. [91778]
§ Jane KennedyUnlike the situation in Great Britain plumbing and building services in Northern Ireland are within the scope of the Construction Industry Training Board (NI) which is a non-departmental public body established under the Industrial Training Act with the purpose of encouraging training and careers within the construction industry. The board is empowered to collect a statutory levy from companies within its scope
Electrical skills are outside the scope of the board. The electrical contracting sector is facilitated in Northern Ireland by the Electrical Training Trust (ETT) a voluntary body. These arrangements represent the wishes of employers in the various sub sectors of the local construction industry as expressed in consultation.
The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), a UK wide organisation established with the support of the devolved administrations, is working with the construction sector to form a sector skills council which will represent the industry in relation to skills issues. The Northern Ireland Construction Industry Training Board and Electrical Training Trust are involved in that work.