Furious contractors have been making louder calls to scrap the CITB in the wake of its latest round of controversial training cuts this week.

Angry firms have been contacting the Enquirer and taking to social media to vent their frustration at the latest moves.

Beena Nana, Head of Skills and Training at fit-out trade body FIS said: “Our members voted against consensus as recently as this summer and the initial reaction seems to be that the offer from CITB is even worse than they thought.

“We wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that fundamental changes are needed to the training landscape for construction, but you can understand why increasingly companies are questioning whether a swathing levy that is unpredictable and remote from the needs of individual companies and sub sectors is helping to drive that change”.

The FIS was one of only two trade bodies which voted against the CITB levy collecting powers being renewed earlier this year.

One specialist contractor added: “The CITB is a quango and serves no purpose other than to provide its employees with wages and benefits.”

Another said: “CITB are unfit for our purpose. It’s just another hand in your pocket in a tight industry.”

A contractor said: “We’ve had enough of the CITB. Today’s funding cuts are another blow to small construction businesses already fighting to survive.

“The levy system is frustrating. The apprenticeship grants are nowhere near what’s needed. And now — even less support for the people actually trying to train the future workforce?

“We constantly hear that the UK needs more skilled trades — yet the organisations designed to support growth seem to be making it harder every year.”

Another firm added: “If CITB had spent as much money supporting SMEs as it has on naval gazing and carrying out myriad restructures that bring less than no value to your average levy payer during the last twenty years, the construction sector would be a real powerhouse.”

One of the few positive notes on LinkedIn said: “I will say the staff on the ground that we deal with regularly are really great people, but let down by their superiors.”