THE Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has confirmed changes to the funding system in response to increased demand for services.
The CITB’s Employer Networks budget has been set at £11.5 million for the 2026-27 financial year, and access to the programme has been altered so only micro, small, and medium size employers can use it. Large employers will now have access to a Large Employer Fund.
From April, micro to medium employers – those that employ 1 to 249 employees – will be able to book training through Employer Networks at 50% match funding or at a fixed contribution for health and safety courses.
A new annual cap per employer, according to the size of their business, has also been introduced: Micro employers (1–9 employees) can claim up to £1,500 per annum; Small employers (10–49 employees) can claim up £2,000 per annum; and Medium employers (50–249 employees) can claim up £4,500 per annum.
From April, large employers will no longer have access to Employer Networks and will have their own separate fund. This is designed to be more flexible and provides £18,000 to spend on in-scope training. Large employers will need to share a copy of their training plan with CITB before applying for funding.
Employer networks and the large employer fund cover just a small part of CITB’s wider offer to industry, which also includes short course grants, apprenticeship grants, travel to train, qualification grants, and the industry impact fund.
CITB’s wider work – including competence frameworks, competence pathways, sector plans, national construction colleges, and careers activity through Go Construct and Go Construct STEM ambassadors – continues as normal. In addition, its local new entrant support teams (NEST) and wider advisory services remain available to support employers to identify the best options for their workforce.
Tim Balcon, CEO at CITB, said, “We appreciate that the decisions we have had to make have been disruptive for the industry. However, the premise for these changes is that we’re engaging more employers and seeing increased demand – we’ve seen a 36% increase in employer engagement. But we need to balance this with the same amount of Levy. Consequently, the way funding is accessed must change in order for us to support more employers with new entrants and competence training.”
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