CITB has confirmed a series of changes to its grants and funding offer, taking effect from 8 January 2026, following today’s meeting.
In short, growing demand for training funding without an increase in Levy rates means CITB is reshaping its support to focus more directly on addressing the industry skills gap.
What’s changing from 8 January 2026
Short Course Training
- Short course training will no longer be supported through the Grants Scheme apart from Plant Operations, Scaffolding and other specialist courses. The full list of courses is available to view on our website
- Support will now be delivered exclusively via Employer Networks
- Pre‑8 December bookings that are completed between 8 January and 31 March 2026 will be honoured where there is evidence provided of booking date to qualify for grant payment.
- Please note, any short training already booked before 8 December (with evidence) will be honoured at current rates.
Booking Requirements
- You must contact your local adviser who will help you identify and book your training needs.
Funding via Employer Networks
- CITB will match fund 50% of eligible courses
- H&S in construction and associated courses supported at 30% of average market rate (full list available on our website)
- The EN fund operates on a finite, fixed annual budget which will be carefully managed throughout the year to ensure support is distributed fairly
- First Aid training will not be supported.
Qualification Grant Changes
- Attendance grants for long qualifications removed*
- Achievement grant of £600
- Level 7 qualifications no longer supported.
* This does not impact Level 7 Apprenticeships, or Scottish Advanced Craft Certifications which are SCQF Level 7 (equivalent to QCF Level 5.)
Large employers
- Will not be supported for any training via EN funding after 31 March 2026
- A new offer for large employers will be co-designed in early 2026 and launched from 1 April.
What you need to do
- If planning short-duration training, please ensure bookings are made through Employer Networks to access funding
- Prioritise your training needs
- Contact your dedicated CITB Adviser for support.
CITB is encouraging employers to prioritise training needs and to speak to their CITB adviser early. A series of webinars is also being offered to help employers understand what these changes mean in practice.
The NAS will continue to engage closely with CITB to understand the implications for specialist sectors and to support members through the transition. We’ll share further updates as more detail becomes available.
Further information is available via CITB’s dedicated support page.
And CITB are also hosting a series of informative webinars.
