The Cotton and Allied Textile Industrial Training Board was set up by Statutory Instrument in July 1966 as a result of the Industrial Training Act of 1964. The main aim of this board and the fifteen similar bodies in other sectors of industry, was to provide better provision for training in industry and commerce. All boards were composed of an equal number of employers and trades union representatives and a small number from the field of education.
The main functions of the Industrial Training Boards were as follows: 1) To provide or organise sufficient training courses for the employers in their respective industries; 2) To make recommendations about length, nature, standard and content of each training scheme; 3) To pay a grant to the employers who provided training; 4) To impose a levy on employers in their particular industry in order to carry out the above functions.
After the Employment and Training Act of 1973, most of the responsibilities of the Industrial Training Boards were transferred to the Manpower Services Commission and were then carried out by the Training Services Agency. In November 1981, the secretary of state for employment announced changes which would lead to the dissolution of the ITBs. After this time, all responsibility for training was taken on by the industries themselves and it is for this reason that the record of publications from the Cotton and Allied Textiles Industrial Training Board only goes up to 1982.