By way of further incentivising upskilling through recognised industry-wide qualifications, CITB have introduced grant increases for construction NVQs, effective 1st April 2023, which greatly reduce their cost to employers.
Specifically, the amount of grant available for some Supervisory NVQs at Levels 3 and 4 have increased to £1,250 per achievement, while Management and Senior Management NVQs at Levels 6 and 7 have risen to £1,500 per successful completion. Claims for trade qualifications at NVQ Level 2 and Occupational Work Supervision at Level 3 remain at £600 per achievement, which was the claim threshold across the board prior to April 2023.
That means the CITB grant provision has doubled for Level 4 NVQs and shot up by 250% for Levels 6 and above, thereby halving the cost – or more – for specialist contractors looking to upskill their workforce.
Full List Of Affected NVQs
Take a look below at the Supervisory/Management NVQs that have been positively affected by this new initiative:
Supervision Qualifications
- Level 3 in Built Environment Design
- Level 3 in Construction Contracting Operations
- Level 3 in Site Inspection
- Level 3 in Surveying, Property and Maintenance
- Level 4 in Construction Site Supervision
Management Qualifications
- Level 6 in Construction Site Management
- Level 6 in Built Environment Design Management
- Level 6 in Construction Contracting Operations Management
- Level 6 in Senior Site Inspection
- Level 7 in Construction Senior Management
Who Is Entitled To These Financial Benefits For Upskilling?
Essentially, you are eligible to receive this enhanced “short qualification grant” under the following conditions:
You can apply if you’re a CITB Registered employer and up to date with your Levy Returns. As well as fulfilling our general Grants Scheme terms and conditions and specific requirements for this grant. You can apply for this grant for all directly employed staff on the payroll, business owners and partners, and all subcontractors.
One of said “specific requirements”, in addition to solely relating to the above approved short qualifications, is that the candidate must take less than one year to reach achievement from the date of registration – a caveat that shouldn’t be overlooked by employers and training providers alike.
Not sure whether your company or business activity qualifies for CITB Levy registration? Check out the official guidance here.
Why Are We Seeing Grant Increases For Construction NVQs?
In their own words, these grant increases for construction NVQs are aimed at helping tackle the skills shortages present in the construction industry. By making construction NVQs more accessible for people in pivotal positions within the supply chain, the more qualified people there will be in the industry to drive it forward and future-proof it through compliance.
However, this was not only designed for new entrants into the industry. The move also encourages existing construction supervisors and managers who currently hold their corresponding CSCS cards through Industry Accreditation (IA) to renew their tickets, as this option will be permanently discontinued from 31st December 2024.
As we discussed in our Brick Blog about Grandfather Rights, this is the end of the line for Industry Accreditation, meaning foremen and managers must demonstrate their competence and suitability for their role through National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) as opposed to peer authentication.
Since this accounts for thousands of construction industry professionals, it would be naive to think these grant increases for construction NVQs weren’t partly – or mostly – introduced in order to entice a proportion of experienced workers who have traditionally been against gaining formal qualifications to do so once and for all. After all, the industry cannot afford to let the individuals holding most responsibilty simply fall off the radar – especially at a time when there is so much demand for skilled individuals both on and off site.
Reaping The Rewards of Grant Increases For Construction NVQs With The ABC Assessment Centre
If the above situation applies to you and you are searching for a training provider that offers this service, look no further! Take a look below at all our NVQ assessment services and you’ll see how the new grant incentives bring down the net cost significantly (note that Full Members of The Association of Brickwork Contractors enjoy a discount on these prices) – we’ll even submit the claim for you.
