The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has announced that all levy-registered construction employers will be eligible to benefit from its expanded apprenticeships support service, phased in throughout 2021.
CITB currently offers employer and apprentice support for 7,000 contracted apprenticeships, which is about a third of the total marketplace.
The organisation will offer a support service to all employers with apprentices, on an employer demand-led basis. It will migrate direct, funded delivery of apprenticeships in England to existing providers. While funded apprenticeship support will continue in Scotland and Wales, the demand-led, wider offer will also apply in those nations.
Support for employers will include help accessing grants; choosing the right apprenticeship standard and the right training provider; guidance through the government’s online apprenticeships system; and building partnerships with colleges and training providers.
CITB will also continue to offer some recruitment services to employers who recruit large numbers of apprentices each year, along with advice, guidance, and support materials for all employers
For apprentices, CITB will provide local data-driven careers advice, matching applicants to vacancies; and e-learning, supporting Maths and English. Direct contact with apprentices will be employer-driven, but we will continue to offer support, at an employer’s request, particularly for those with educational and social needs or who are at risk of leaving.
The training board added that it will no longer actively recruit for new starts beyond April 2021, with prospective candidates and their employers instead referring to alternative training providers. All current CITB apprentices will continue to be supported through to completion.
Deborah Madden, head of apprenticeships at CITB, said: “In 2017, the government and industry made clear that the way CITB provided services had to change, and these changes deliver on that commitment.
“The aim is to make it as easy as possible for construction employers, particularly SMEs, to take on and manage apprentices, and to improve the chances of those young people achieving their qualification.”
The expanded CITB apprenticeships support service will be paid for from within existing levy funds, with no levy increase.
