Did you know that since April 2023, CITB funding has significantly increased? Most employers and Site Engineers agree that regular training benefits the business and the individual. However, some employers also worry about the cost and administration involved in delivering training.
Benefits of Site Engineering training for employers include:
- Lower Site Engineer turnover (Site Engineers who feel valued and supported tend to stick around).
- Reduced risk of costly and potentially dangerous mistakes at the start of the construction project.
- Time saved on-site because of more efficient Site Engineers and Site Engineers trained in time-saving technology.
Cost to the employer
The good news is that there are two different training funds available, four if your business is based in Scotland. Depending on how many employees require training during a 12-month period, you can claim for all or some of the course costs. Let us take a quick look at each of these funds.
CITB Skills and Training Fund
If your total wage bill exceeds £80,000, you are legally required to be CITB-registered. This is your opportunity to claim some of your money back.
- £2,500 available for employers with no employees (CIS only)
- £5,000 available for employers with 1-49 employees
- £7,500 available for employers with 50-74 employees
- £10,000 available for employers with 75-100 employees
- £15,000 available for employers with 100-149 employees
- £20,000 available for employers with 150-199 employees
- £25,000 available for employers with 200-250 employees
Find out more about this funding here.
CITB Levy Grant for short courses
As a CITB-registered business, you can claim £140 per delegate regardless of how many employees or subcontractors’ delegates you have. Some longer courses attract double this funding.
Find out more about the CITB Levy Grant here.
Employer Network GRANT BACK project
This CITB pilot scheme aims to achieve two things:
- Take on all the hassle and administration of organising any CITB training in the following areas:
- South West Wales
- Lincolnshire
- Norfolk
- Highlands & Islands
- Two provide a quick 75% refund, from the Scottish Civils Training Group, for any Site Engineer training. (50% if your business employs over 25 employees)
Find out if your business is eligible here.
The Flexible Workforce Development Fund
Available only to businesses in Scotland, this fund is administered through local further education colleges. Small businesses, including sole traders, can easily claim £5,000 for training, and larger businesses can access £15,000.
Find out more about this fund here.
What about time and administration commitment?
More good news, Setting Out For Construction (SOFC) doesn’t leave admin staff to book your Site Engineers on a course; their qualified trainers (Site Engineers themselves) to make sure that they are booked onto the right training for them. We will even point you in the direction of other training providers if what we offer isn’t right for them.
We also have training options that do not require a lot of time off-site. For example, with SOFC membership, your Site Engineer can access our easy-to-use eLearning portal, plus ongoing support and advice to help them in their role. They can learn at a time, place and pace that works for you, as the employer, and them. We also have trainer-led online training for construction software so that your Site Engineers do not have to travel. We also provide 1-2-1 and in-house training on your site to further reduce time away from the construction site – we recommend this if you have four or more employees on a course as it works out more cost-effective – making that funding go further.
However, our class-based face-to-face courses in Glasgow, London and Wakefield are also very popular. While this temporarily takes Site Engineers off-site, it saves you time on-site once they are back, as they will be more efficient.
Conclusion
With no downside and three important benefits, it is time to act. What training have your Site Engineers recently individually requested? What Site Engineer-related risks would you like to minimise? Do you want to save on-site with more efficient Site Engineers and time-saving technology? Once you have answered these questions, contact us and have a friendly, no-obligation chat about funding and course availability in your area.