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CITB NI £1.45m grant scheme to help support construction training
CITB NI have launched their new £1.45m training grants scheme to help encourage the local construction industry to train. The newly updated and improved scheme will be available to registered employers from September 2019 and supports a wide range of training and qualifications for their employees working in Northern Ireland.
The significant investment and improvements will give more value to the construction employer and more benefits to the industry.
2019/2020 CITB NI Grant Scheme Highlights
Due to the successful uptake of the apprenticeship grant in recent years, CITB NI have enhanced the grant by a further 25% which means that £6,500 can be claimed for a fully employed apprentice over a 3-year period. There is also a £1,500 grant available from the Department for the Economy for employers who take on an apprentice from the very start right through to completion of NVQ Level 2 and 3.
Brand new grants for 2019/2020 are being introduced following on from demand and interest from the industry. There will be an introduction of an Industrial Placement Grant to the value of £1,500. This grant has limited places so is only available on a first come, first served basis.
There is also a new travel and accommodation grant for training courses not available in Northern Ireland to the value of £100 per day for a maximum of five days. Pre-Approval required and limited funding.
The daily grant rate will increase by 50% and the cap that was previously introduced will now only apply to short duration training courses lasting up to ten days.
Barry Neilson, Chief Executive, CITB NI said, “Training delivers results, and more construction employers are embracing and valuing training for their workforce. Our Grant scheme is widely recognised within the industry and we want to continue to provide financial support for employers of all sizes towards the training and qualification of their people. We have a major focus on apprentices and want to help employers realise the importance of apprenticeships and their value to the overall future of the industry. We hope that the enhanced grant funding will help employers plan their training for the forthcoming year. The training grant funds are easy to claim, with employers encouraged to claim online via the website as it is easy, quick and efficient.
CITB NI will also continue to facilitate direct training to the industry through a variety of sources at low or no cost to employers. This is to support training that has been identified to be of strategic importance or is not currently available in the market such as our Mental Health and Supervisory training.”
You have a statutory obligation to complete the 2019 Levy Return Form by 4 pm 30 August 2019.
Deadline for all Levy Return Forms including Options and New Registrations must be adhered to otherwise, grants will be restricted to apprentice grant only.
Training in Partnership Grants
The Training in Partnership Grants offer funding directly to industry federations and representative bodies or provide training as identified and procured by CITB NI on behalf of the construction industry.
Training in Partnership Grants are designed to directly fund training delivered to employers at little or no cost to encourage strategically important training or to improve performance of the industry in relation to future needs.
For further information on CITB NI Grants please visit our web site at http://www.citbni.org.uk/Grants.aspx or contact a member of our Grants team on 028 9082 5466 or email: grants@citbni.org.uk