Business Action | April / May 2020

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CONSTRUCTION £10,000 skills grants for small construction businesses The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) was due to relaunch its Skills and Training Fund in April and has now modified this further in view of Coronavirus. The new scheme now offers grants of up to £10,000 to micro and small businesses (with up to 100 employees) with grants of up to £25,000 for medium businesses with up to 250 employees. Since 2015, CITB’s Skills and Training Fund has awarded more than £21.6 million to some 4,800 micro and small companies, enabling them to access funding to provide training. Now CITB is increasing the amount of funding available and widening the scope of eligible training, so that companies with 100-250 employees are also eligible for funding. “The new CITB Skills and Training Fund has been refreshed to become a wider, more flexible offer for employers,” says CITB chief executive Sarah Beale. “We have responded to the urgent COVID-19 situation by changing the focus of the fund and offering more flexibility on what businesses can apply for.” The fund has been expanded to support business sustainability, the focus being broadened from productivity and innovation to helping employers with sustainability and skill retention. These are key concerns for the construction industry in the current extraordinary circumstances. In 2020-21 the expanded Skills and Training Fund will allocate £10m exclusively to micro and small businesses to allow them to invest in new ways of using technology, e-learning and upskilling staff. This figure will rise to £12m for 2021-22 and 2022-23. Additionally, in response to industry stakeholders, an additional £4m is being allocated to medium-sized businesses for 2020–2021. CITB will shortly unveil a Leadership and Management Development Fund for larger businesses. “Construction companies are under incredible pressure as a result of COVID-19,” adds Sarah. “At the moment, the main priority is doing all we can to ensuring businesses and employees are protected so that, when the current emergency finally comes to an end, the sector is armed with the skills and resources it needs to keep Britain building.” Purpose of funding The fund’s main purpose is to improve productivity through: 1. Support to do more and better training 2. Funding training to improve the business – addressing challenges, taking up new opportunities or responding to the fact that the business is growing and needs new skills 3. Helping businesses to test new ways of developing a skilled workforce 4. Offering financial support for a wide range of training or activity (not just CITB standardised training) In response to the COVID-19 crisis the purpose of the fund has been expanded to support business sustainability, the delivery of contingency plans or changed training needs resulting from the crisis. This might include programmes to support: 5. Retention of staff 6. A change to the type of training needed in the business 7. Developing the right skills to manage change and ensure business sustainability Fundable activity The fund supports a wide range of training and other ‘people development’ activity: ➤➤CITB standardised (grant eligible) training ➤➤Other training, including ‘in house’ training ➤➤Activity specifically aimed at developing skills or knowledge e.g. mentoring ➤➤Development of bespoke training resources ➤➤Help for businesses to understand their training needs and develop better training and development plans All training or activity must be either construction specific or to develop management, leadership or supervisory skills. The fund supports online learning and other forms of people development that do not need to be delivered face-to-face. It also supports businesses to develop their own training videos or online resources. Activity can include, but is not limited to: ➤➤The full cost of training listed in the CITB Grant scheme ➤➤Training outside of the CITB Grant scheme – either accredited or where quality can be demonstrated ➤➤Business development accreditation focused on people/ skills development e.g. IIP ➤➤Coaching and mentoring delivered by an accredited coach or mentor It also includes development of learning resources for the individual company, that are not already available in the market, including: ➤➤Training course content ➤➤Development of a subjectspecific learning program ➤➤Training videos or online courses (that make use of existing platforms) ➤➤Company specific guidance or manuals for staff (where the purpose is the development of knowledge or skills) Funding criteria The criteria used for approving grants are: productivity (improving the business), innovation (new to the business), impact, quality and value for money. Productivity is defined as helping a business to grow and develop and become more efficient and profitable. In response to COVID-19 the fund will also support projects that are about sustaining, rather than improving the business. In this case training or activity could focus on: ➤➤Sustaining the business ➤➤Retaining staff ➤➤Maintaining training, either to address immediate gaps or preserve skill levels for the longer term ➤➤Equipping staff with new skills to lead or manage in a different context Innovation includes not just technology but something that’s new to the individual business. Projects that focus on a COVID-19 response can include training or activity that is not new to the business. Full details and applications This is a brief summary of the Skills and Training Fund and construction businesses can find full details online or by contacting CITB adviser Roy Imeson, based in Ilfracombe. ■■Details 07770 800 954, email roy.imeson@citb.co.uk or visit citb.co.uk 14 business action | April / May 2020 | business-action.co.uk
HEADER £3,600 funding to help recruit graduates University of Plymouth is offering Devon SMEs the opportunity to recruit skilled, recent graduates within the STEM fields with incentive payments of up to £3,600. STEM Graduates into Business, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and led by the University of Plymouth, provides access to recent graduates with fresh, innovative ideas and the drive to develop professionally. Employed as a paid intern for either three, six or 12 months, it offers flexibility to small and medium businesses looking to meet current market demands. Recent research from the HoTSW LEP reveals that nearly 98% of businesses in the region employ less than 50 people and that lack of skills, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related roles has been highlighted as a key barrier to productivity. Some Devon SMEs have also admitted to Did you know that over 65% of students and graduates from the region, stay in the region*? *Gradsouthwest.com being unable to easily find and acquire the necessary talent to drive growth and innovation. STEM Graduates into Business aims to support businesses with overcoming these barriers by creating a cohort of graduate employing SMEs in the region. Recruitment with a difference Working directly with STEM Graduates into Business removes any upfront recruitment costs. They co-ordinate the recruitment process, supporting the creation of an eye-catching vacancy, and advertise the vacancies on regional and national graduate platforms as well as exclusive university and strategic partner channels. With no need to go through the usual job sites or recruitment agencies, you can access recent graduates with the STEM skills your business needs without breaking the bank. Return on your investment STEM Graduates into Business provides access to adaptable graduates, who bring cuttingedge sector knowledge and determination for professional development. A graduate can bring state-of-the-art skills that enable new product development or the creation of a new service – the perfect candidates to boost your business growth. ■■To find out more and recruit a graduate, visit www. plymouth.ac.uk/STEMgrad or email stem-graduates @plymouth.ac.uk @businessactionm | April / May 2020 | business action 15
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Business Action | April / May 2020

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