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CITB has recently announced major updates to its Grants and Funding offer, following changes to the Training Group Grant. Many of these changes come into effect on 8th January 2026, and some from April 2026, and all will affect how employers book and claim funding for short courses and qualifications.
To support you through the changes, we’ve summarised the key points below — including timelines, what’s changing, and what you need to do next.*
*We will update this blog as more details are revealed by CITB – stay tuned!
The Grants Scheme will no longer fund short courses. Short courses will be delivered exclusively via Employer Networks (ENs) rather than the Grants Scheme.
Courses booked before 8th December 2025 that are completed between 8th January and 31st March 2026 will be honoured at the current grant rate, where evidence is provided of booking date.
CITB will match-fund 50% of eligible courses, as opposed to the 70% previously funded
Health & Safety courses will be supported at 30% of the average market rate
What does this mean for funding for my course?
EN budgets are finite and fixed annually
First Aid training will no longer be supported
Attendance grants removed for long qualifications
£600 achievement grant remains
Level 7 qualifications will no longer be supported if they started after 8th December
This does not affect Apprenticeships, or Scottish SCQF Level 7 Advanced Craft Certifications
EN funding available only until 31st March 2026
A new large employer fund launches 1st April 2026
Already booked by 8th December 2025 or completed before 7th January 2026?→ No action needed; current funding rates remain.
Booked by 8th December 2025 but taking place 8th Jan–31st March 2026?→ Ensure you have evidence of booking to secure existing rates.
Planning new short-duration training?→ Speak to your CITB Adviser to organise EN-supported training.
Large employer?→ Complete any EN-funded training before 31st March 2026.
For all queries or transition support, contact your local CITB Adviser.
CITB has confirmed that changes are required to keep funding sustainable and focused where it is needed most.Key reasons include:
36% increase in the number of employers supported since 2021
No increase in Levy rates during this period
Demand for financial support is now projected to exceed Levy income
New structure designed to protect long-term sustainability
Ensures funding is targeted at areas with the greatest industry impact
CITB has confirmed ongoing investment in construction skills, including:
Support for high-impact, skills gap-aligned training
Card-linked training will continue to receive grants
Focus on ensuring funding reaches areas with the greatest industry need
8th December 2025 – CITB announcement & guidance published
8th January 2026 – New rules take effect
31st March 2026 – Large employers stop accessing EN funding
1st April 2026 – New Large Employer Fund goes live
A: Supporting more employers with the same Levy amount is no longer sustainable. Without changes, CITB funding demand would exceed income, risking all support programmes.
A: If booked on or before 8th December 2025, or completed before 7th January 2026, your rate is protected.
If booked by 8th December but delivered 8th Jan – 31st March 2026, you must provide booking evidence to receive the current rate.
A: Not as far as we understand it right now. The grant scheme will continue to be in place for apprenticeships and a set list of courses.
A: Yes, the tiers will remain the same.
A: There’s limited information at the moment, but our understanding is that this will be a separate fund and will not be linked to the Employer Network.
A: CITB has provided this list of prices of the 30% market average that will be funded for Health and Safety courses. It has been calculated based on course costs paid via the Employer Networks. CITB has grouped courses by duration/content into two groups and applied an average rate. CITB will monitor course costs on an ongoing basis and will update the methodology as it gathers more data.
A: Yes, the cap will remain the same until 31st March. We believe it is being reviewed and may change in future.
A: You can talk with your Employer Network to feed back to CITB.
A: The CITB customer engagement team in your area can support by signposting alternative funding sources
A: CITB will honour any grant amount that’s been deducted from a Skills and Training Fund agreement. The process will be managed (at the completion stage) via the Funding team and CITB will communicate what that process looks like once available.
A: There will not be a list of training that is available via Employer Networks, as these offer a more flexible approach allowing employers to prioritise training in areas they need. However, there are guidelines that will help identify what is fundable via Employer Networks. This will include:
A: Any training you have already booked via Employer Networks prior to the announcement on 8th December will be honoured at the existing rates. Anything booked after 8th December but completed before 7th January will be honoured at the current rates.
A: CITB must ensure that the Levy reinvestment is managed responsibly and achieves the greatest impact possible across the industry. First aid training is popular with employers, but it is mandatory so must happen regardless of CITB funding. CITB is prioritising funding for training that supports entry into the industry, upskilling or improved productivity.
A: As long as this meets the scope requirements then it can be funded via Employer Networks. At present, manual handling would be able to be funded via Employer Networks. Employer Networks will be able to fund a broader range of training where employers feel funds should be prioritised.
A: Yes. Anything that doesn’t fall under what was previously short course training can still be funded as long as it is not out of scope and CITB will look at these as the requests come in. What’s really important is that local advisers are working with employers to help them identify what their most important training and skills needs are and how CITB can support them.
A: There will be one route to funding for CITB-supported training. Training supported via the Grants Scheme is not fundable through the Employer Networks route. Any in-scope training that sits outside of CITB’s Grants Scheme can be supported via Employer Networks.
A: Requests for bespoke training will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and consideration given to value for money, availability and suitability of existing training.
A: Requests for bespoke training will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and consideration given to value for money and added value for your business needs, availability and suitability of existing training
A: Yes. Where the standards are automatic these can only be uploaded by the training provider. All the new novice/advanced plant standards can only be uploaded by the training provider, too (with more being converted to this format in future phases). CITB intend to fully switch off the employer upload route from 1st April 2026.
A: Yes.
A: For training funded via Employer Networks, CITB encourage employers to plan ahead, but prioritise training planned for the next three months as anything booked further ahead tends to change. This will remain as a way of managing bookings without creating additional administrative work.
A: Employers do not need to sign a funding agreement to access financial support via Employer Networks. An Employer Networks policy statement is available on the CITB website which applies to employers accessing funding via Employer Networks.
A: Employers should speak to their local adviser about their training and skill needs so their adviser can help identify how CITB can support them in the best way. Employers should not contact the Employer Networks Booking team directly with training requests. For any exempted standards that remain in the Grants Scheme, these can be booked directly with training providers that are eligible to provide this training.
A: For large employers, training must be completed by 31st March 2026.
A: The 52-week rule is still in place for grant-eligible training.
A: No.
The funding changes from CITB are rolling out now, and we expect lots of clarification to come for common questions and concerns.
If you need any support with understanding what you need to do next, our team will do our best to help you, as we keep on top of all the latest information.
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