CITB Funding

Discover the CITB Skills and Training Fund, who's eligible, and how to apply.

What is the CITB Skills and Training Fund?

The Skills and Training Fund offers CITB-registered businesses funding to invest in training so you can equip your workforce to face the future.

It provides an extra incentive for businesses to access CITB grant-eligible training, but can also be used to tailor a training programme in construction or leadership and management that suits your business and the needs of your staff.

  • Careers
  • Standards and qualifications
  • Training and development

How is the CITB Skills and Training Fund different to the grants?

The Skills and Training Fund is available on top of the existing grant scheme, meaning you can get both at the same time. There is also more flexibility with the Skills and Training Fund: whilst CITB Grants are only available on existing, standardised courses, the Fund can also be used to introduce new training to help businesses improve. The Fund also aims to support the full cost of grant eligible training.

What fundable training activities are there?

You can apply for a wide range of training, providing that it is either construction-specific or to develop management, leadership or supervisory skills. This includes:

  • CITB standardised (grant eligible) training
  • Other training, including ‘in house’ training, delivered by an appropriately qualified trainer

The fund also supports other types of ‘people development activity’, including:

  • Activity specifically aimed at developing skills or knowledge e.g. mentoring
  • Development of training resources designed to meet very specific business needs
  • Help for businesses to understand and plan their training needs (through accredited business development, not consultancy)

Other fundable activities include the development of:

  • Training course content not already available on the market
  • Training videos or online course content (that make use of existing platforms)
  • Company-specific guidance or manuals for staff where the purpose is the development of knowledge or skills

Who can apply?

There are two parts to the CITB Skills and Training Fund.

Small and Micro-sized Businesses with up to 99 directly-employed staff can receive up to £10,000. Medium-sized Businesses with between 100 and 250 directly-employed staff can receive up to £25,000. In both cases, the exact amount of funding you are eligible for is related to how many direct employees you have.

Your company must also be CITB-registered and up to date with your Levy Returns. Any previous projects paid for by the fund must also have been signed off as complete.

You can apply twice every 12 months, but you can only have one live project at a time. The Skills and Training Fund only applies to future training activities, so you need to specify on your application that the training has not yet taken place.

How to apply

Before you apply, it’s a good idea to discuss your application with your local CITB Adviser as well as the training provider you’re planning on using, as both can offer guidance. The CITB Adviser can also ensure your application form has been completed correctly. CITB also provides a range of documents including guidance notes which you should read before submitting your application.

Once you have filled out and submitted the application form, it will be assessed, and you should receive a decision by email around the 15th of the month after your application was submitted. All applications are scored against the Fund criteria as set out in the guidance notes. If your application meets the criteria, it will be approved and processed for payment.

After you’ve been approved, you can start your training activity. You must retain all evidence of invoices as you will need to submit these to CITB as proof that the training has taken place.

Find out more:

Find out if you’re eligible for a CITB grant payment, plus discover our range of grant-eligible courses including short courses, plant NVQs and construction management NVQs.

Browse our full list courses developed by the CITB to support the construction industry with key skills and knowledge including safety, supervision, and management.

Learn about the CITB Levy, including information on who needs to pay it, how much you need to pay, and how levy payments are used to support the construction industry.

For more information about the CITB Skills and Training Fund

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