Have your say on the future of apprenticeship grants

Did you know that CITB distributed £75 million in apprenticeship grants between January 2017 and March 2018?

This considerable financial support, funded by the CITB Levy, enabled over 10,000 construction employers to train nearly 30,000 apprentices across Great Britain.

But the industry still needs skilled workers. CITB research shows that as many as 158,000 construction jobs will be created between now and 2022. So we must continue to train up new skilled talent.

Our review of apprenticeship grants

CITB recently committed to undertake a full review of apprenticeship grants and we’re engaging with stakeholders to gather their views.

Many of you will be aware that from 1 April 2018, CITB’s Grants Scheme reformed and simplified its processes.

As part of Grants Scheme reform, we’ve made two changes to apprenticeship grants. Firstly, from 1 April 2018, apprenticeships must be in a construction-related discipline and aligned to the CITB Scope Order, so sectors like plumbing and electrical which are out of scope are no longer supported.

Secondly, our apprenticeship grants now include support for Higher Apprenticeships – Level 4 and above (for England and Wales) and Levels 10 and above (for Scotland).

Have your say

CITB staff have been meeting groups of employers and Federations to discuss how apprenticeships should be supported by the Grants Scheme in the future. Feedback gathered from businesses of all sizes is helping inform our discussions and will be considered when any decisions are made.

In addition to these meetings, to ensure that a broad range of views are considered, we’re encouraging all those with an interest in apprenticeships to complete a brief Apprenticeship Grant Reform survey.

Adding your views to this online questionnaire should take no longer than 10 minutes and doing so gives you the opportunity to help shape the way we support apprenticeships now and in the future.

And if you want to find out more about training and recruiting apprentices, CITB has a dedicated team ready to offer help and advice. Please visit www.citb.co.uk/citb-apprenticeships or contact your local training provider directly.