March is a busy month, there’s a lot to look to forward to. Women in Construction week is underway, here are some more useful dates for you to begin with: Scottish Apprenticeship Week (Mar 6 – 10) National Careers Week (Mar 6 – 11) International Women’s Day (March 8) Open Doors (March 13 – 18) This update focusses on how to apply for up to £50,000 for staff training; a 36% increase to NCC training figures; an 83% rise in skills and training fund take-up in Wales, along with our new apprenticeships report.I have included SkillBuild registration details and inspiring Onsite Experience Hub stories, too. |
Free Funds to upskill your team |
![]() |
We are offering up to £50,000 – for free – towards the cost of staff training to Levy-paying businesses. You can apply to either the: Skills and Training Fund (for micro, small and medium-sized businesses) Leadership and Management Development Fund (for large businesses). |
NCC training rises by 36% The number of individuals CITB has trained or supported has risen – we are on track to exceed our end-of-year targets. Our latest Performance Report (October–December 2022) shows that: Over 7,300 learners have been directly trained at the National Construction College, an annual increase of 36%. Another significant boost is over 3,200 employers accessing training at the colleges, a climb of 35%. The National Specialist Accredited Centre (NSAC) delivered over 700 qualifications in niche, highly specialised areas. Over 116,000 qualifications have been delivered through our suite of Site Safety Plus (SSP) courses, almost a third of which were completed remotely. The number of employers we’ve supported has increased, too, details also in the Performance Report. Meanwhile the Employer Network has started well, almost 2,000 learners have accessed training. The south-west Wales’ and Midlands’ networks are performing particularly well |
Rise of 83% in skills and training funding in Wales |
2022 saw an 83% increase in Skills and Training (S&T) funding to employers in Wales, news to encourage more businesses to access our support. Interested in S&T funding? Contact your CITB adviser here. |
Apprenticeships: Challenges. Opportunities. Support |
My new blog features our latest report: Construction apprenticeships: Challenges. Opportunities. Support. The report examines why apprenticeship take-up is low among small and medium-sized enterprises, analyses the reasons for this and provides CITB solutions, like our Employer Network Pilot and New Entrant Employer Support Team in England. We partnered with the Construction Talk podcast, during National Apprenticeship Week (Feb 6-12), to hear apprentices’ experiences. In the podcast Antonia Morgan talks of how she moved from nursing to carpentry, Chloe Bidwell’s joinery skills helped her build a new home. Registration for SkillBuild, the largest and longest-running construction skills competition in the UK, has opened. Closing date April 1. Please visit the Go Construct website for more information. Finally, I’d like to share some inspiring Onsite Experience Hub stories, how construction training has transformed lives. Take Emmy Jones, she was in an abusive relationship when training helped her find a route to independence. Mum-of-two Willow Kehily faced redundancy from her retail job she decided to retrain in carpentry Meanwhile Daniel Skelly struggled when his Mum died but he learnt a trade, in line with her wishes, now his joinery work is on display in Harrods. You can see these stories on our Onsite Experience Hub YouTube page. |
Performance Report & Impact Update
9 March 2023