CITB BOOSTS GRANTS, REFLECTING EMPLOYERS’ NEEDS

[ MORE THAN £100M in grants is being invested by CITB to help construction workers train and get the skills they need. From this April CITB is doubling grant rates for short courses to help businesses offer more training and support employers delivering core skills training to their teams amid rising costs.

Grants of up to £240 will be made available to support employers with their training needs, including leadership and management courses. Last year CITB paid over £15m in grants for short courses to employers, with mental health and asbestos awareness courses being the most popular.

In addition, CITB is also increasing the grant rates for specific supervision and management qualifications. That decision has been made to support individuals impacted by the Industry Accreditation Card withdrawal. For Industry Accreditation Card holders to continue to work on-site, completing a qualification might be needed; because of that, grants for supervision and management qualifications will be increased from £600 to £1,250 and £1,500 respectively.

CITB chief executive Tim Balcon explained: “During this challenging time for the economy, the finances of businesses and workers are under pressure. Our increased grant rates address rising costs and support employers to secure high quality training to upskill their workforce.

“This uplift in grants is our response to feedback from employers, who told us increased costs are making it more challenging to invest in the training they need.

“We know investing in training can bring competitive advantage, helping businesses to retain and attract more workers and to ensure they have an upskilled workforce to win new work. We’ve listened to their concerns and responded by doubling our grant rates for short courses and increasing our grant rates for specific short qualifications.” q

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