Grant Scheme Changes Ratified
Changes to the CITB-ConstructionSkills Grants Scheme have been agreed by the industry-led Board this week; 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.
Read more here.
14th Dec 2009