Overhaul of grants system produces extra investment

CITB-ConstructionSkills has increased its training fund to £94m after overhauling its grants scheme.

The level of grants will increase in many areas from 1 August 2012:

• Payments for three year and four year apprenticeship packages increasing from £9,000 to £10,250,
• Grants for two year apprenticeship package being increased from £5,200 to £6,000 and;
• Grants for achieving qualifications will be increased from £275 to £400
• The premium of £250 for achieving Vocational Qualifications at level 4 and above will be increased from August 1 resulting in a grant of £650 for attaining a VQ
• Introduction of a new grant of £50 per day for trainees following degree, BTEC, HNC and similar courses
• An increase in the daily attendance grant rate from £17.50 to £22.50 for each days training

CITB-ConstructionSkills chief executive Mark Farrar said: “We have been working closely with industry and trade federations to ensure that the Grants Scheme is a responsive as possible to their needs. The changes are designed to ease some of the pressure on training budgets during the difficult economic conditions that firms are facing at the moment.

“We recognise when times are hard firms are forced to look at the bottom line of the balance sheet and they can often feel training is an added expense. However it is in these times that investing in training is more important than ever to help ensure we avoid a skills shortfall when the industry returns to growth.

“We are determined to do all we can to help business succeed and grow, and I would urge firms to visit to our website to find out whether they are eligible for grant funding and how to claim.”

More details can be found at www.cskills.org.