Training Board announces Grants Scheme changes

Changes to the CITB-ConstructionSkills Grants Scheme were agreed by the industry-led Board last month; to ensure the skills and training board can continue to pay grants to businesses as the recession deepens.

After extensive consultation, the Board introduced a package of measures to restore working capital for the skills board and ratified proposals that had been tabled by industry-led committees and agreed to.

• Reduce the Training Plan day rate to £17.50 (applicable to all plans started during the 2009/2010 Scheme Year).
• Increase the minimum duration of training acceptable within a Training Plan from 30 minutes to three hours (applicable to all plans started on or after 1 January 2010).
• Limit entitlement to the Training and Development Plan per capita grant (£9 per head with a minimum of £450 payable) to the first Training Plan only (effective for plans started on or after 1 January 2010).
• Reduce grants by 15%. However, the Board wanted to learn lessons from past recessions and limit the potential for a skills gap to emerge in the future. As a result, they opted to protect grants for new entrants coming into the industry at all levels – from professionals to trade.

The move came after leading economists reported that the construction industry has contracted by 13% this year. This, combined with falling Levy, a continuing high demand for grants and a drive for efficiency within the organisation has resulted in further changes being made.

The Board has been advised by its employer-led Training and Finance Committees to take necessary measures to ensure that funding can continue to be provided to help businesses, despite the slow recovery in the economy.

Since the recession started to bite in August last year, employers have defied gloomy economic forecasts, and learnt lessons from the last recession, by continuing to train, so that they are ready for the economic recovery when it happens.

In 2008, 23,500 employers claimed grants of £176m to support business training and qualifications, which was good news for the industry. However, this was £20m more than forecast. Despite steps to make the Grants Scheme more affordable this year, employer demand has exceeded forecasts by a further £4m, leaving the industry-led committees no alternative but to seek approval for a further and final round of changes.

Chris Jones, Learning and Development Director at BAM Construct UK Ltd, Chairman of the industry-led Grants Scheme Working Party and member of the Training Committee said: “Whilst the changes that the Board have made today are not popular decisions, they are necessary to the long term survival of the Grants Scheme, if we want to guarantee funding for business critical training and create a financially sustainable Grants Scheme going forward. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t reduce grant rates, but these are difficult times. This has been another very tough decision – regrettable but essential in the current climate.”

The changes that have been ratified by the Board will come into effect imminently.

Chris Jones added: “This is the last round of changes that the Board will make to the current Grants Scheme. We are currently consulting employers and federations on a fundamental review of the Grants Scheme, which will come into place in August 2010. The new Scheme will make sure that we are providing grants that meet employer needs and help them to prepare for the recovery when it happens.”

Ends

About CITB-ConstructionSkills

CITB-ConstructionSkills is an Industry Training Board and has Levy-raising powers granted through an Act of Parliament. The Levy is viewed by government and industry as the best way to fund training in the construction industry, and an annual independent survey is undertaken to assess support for the system.

CITB-ConstructionSkills is a partner in ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry. Together with CITB Northern Ireland and CIC, we are working to deliver a safe, professional and fully qualified construction workforce through the industry’s Sector Skills Agreement. We are responsible for raising employer engagement in training, securing appropriate funding, producing labour market data, and developing standards and qualifications that meet employer needs.

CITB-ConstructionSkills supports a sector which is central to the UK economy, generating over 8% of GDP and a turnover of more than £210bn a year. CITB-ConstructionSkills is helping construction employers during the downturn and working to maintain skills so the industry can respond when the upturn begins.