Major CITB funding boost to retain more apprentices in Scottish construction

Employers and apprentices in the Scottish construction industry welcomed news today that the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) will increase its annual attendance grant funding to £2,500 for each apprentice in training. As an added retention incentive, achievement grants will increase to £3,500 – an amount awarded when an apprentice successfully completes their training.

Construction-related courses are the most popular destination for young people looking for an apprenticeship in Scotland. In addition to funding thousands of apprenticeships, CITB is the largest training provider of Modern Apprentices across all frameworks.

The new rate – which will see a four-year apprenticeship grant rise from £10,250 to up to £14,500 – is designed to help employers take on and retain more apprentices in the construction industry. CITB forecasts that UK-wide, some 168,500 new jobs in construction will need to be filled in the next five years.

The new rates should be a welcome boost to the industry and help the Scottish Government achieve its ambitions of 30,000 Modern Apprentices starts by 2020.

Steve Radley, Director of Strategy and Policy at CITB said: “We know that taking on an apprentice is a big investment for employers who have seen the cost of doing this go up significantly in recent years. These grant increases are designed to help Scottish employers of all sizes take on apprentices and ensure those learners complete their courses.”

“CITB support isn’t just about money, but we believe that this major rise in grant funding will improve both apprenticeship starts and completions in our sector.”

Gordon Nelson, Director of the Federation of Master Builders Scotland said: “Scottish businesses will benefit from this increased funding and we’re very pleased that smaller businesses can access this support. Modern Apprenticeships are central to the industry and with so many high level skills needed across construction, this can only be good news for business and the economy.”

The new rates will apply from 1April 2019 to all new starts, and the change to the achievement rate will apply to new and existing apprentices who achieve from 1April onwards.

CITB is set to make further announcements on its investment in apprenticeships in the coming weeks.

Employers interested in learning more about the Apprenticeship Levy and how to take on a new apprentice should visit the CITB website for details.

About the new CITB apprenticeship grant

• In Scotland, from 1 April 2019, CITB will pay the attendance grant to apprentices for three of their four years of training, followed by two payments of the achievement grant, as follows:
  • Year 1 – £2,500
  • Year 2 – £2,500
  • Year 3 – £2,500
  • Year 4 – “Level 3” achievement grant of £3,500 plus a further £3,500
  • Total £14,500

About CITB Scotland

• CITB is the Industrial Training Board (ITB) for the construction industry in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). CITB Scotland ensures employers can access the high quality training their workforce needs and supports industry to attract new recruits into successful careers in construction.

• CITB has funding available for employers to upskill their employees, to make sure the construction workforce is trained to a high standard.

• CITB is improving its employer funding by making it easier for companies of all sizes to claim grants and support.

Find more information about CITB

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