CITB provides nearly £130m in grant support for construction employers

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has today released its year-end figures for supporting construction employers and learners through its Grants Scheme. CITB provided nearly £130m in grant support during the financial year (FY) 2024–25.

£71.4m of this was provided through CITB’s various apprenticeship grants, supporting over 30,000 learners and more than 10,000 employers, with the majority of these being small and micro construction firms.

Additionally, during the last FY, CITB provided £7.7m to employers through the Travel to Train scheme, a grant to help employers pay for their apprentices’ travel costs to and from their college or training provider, as well as any accommodation costs required for overnight stays. The scheme helps attract a more diverse range of people into the industry, making training more accessible for learners and employers across the country. Last FY, CITB supported over 3,500 learners and more than 1,300 employers through the Travel to Train scheme.

Furthermore, CITB provided over £50m more to construction employers via its other grants, including £20m for Qualification Grants and £30.5m for Short Course Grants, helping to ensure a well-trained, competent workforce.

The publication of these figures follows the recent publication of CITB’s Strategic Plan 2025-29, in which CITB has committed over £860m over the lifetime of the Strategic Plan to attract new learners into the industry and support employers to train and develop their workforce.

CITB has launched numerous initiatives over the last two years to increase support for the industry that have proved incredibly successful. Its New Entrant Support Team (NEST) supported over 4,000 new apprenticeship starts last FY – nearly doubling the number of new apprentices they’ve helped join the industry compared to the previous period.

NEST provides hands-on, free support to help employers recruit apprentices, and CITB will be doubling the size of its NEST programme to support SMEs in recruiting, engaging, and retaining apprentices.

Additionally, in its second full year of operation, CITB’s Employer Networks supported 50,966 learners in the last FY, an increase from 11,468 the previous, inaugural year. Employer Networks are an initiative set up and funded by CITB that offer bespoke, easy-to-access training and financial support for employers.

Adrian Beckingham, Strategy and Policy Director at CITB, said: “We want to provide timely, effective support for construction firms of all shapes and sizes. The uptake of our Grants Scheme is excellent to see – our apprenticeships grant support is 14% over our target last FY.

“The fact that 90% of firms receiving our apprenticeship grant support are small and micro businesses is even more heartening – over two-thirds of apprenticeship starts in the construction industry are employed by companies of fewer than 50 employees. The health of smaller construction firms is vital for the wider industry to prosper.

“The amazing performances of our NEST and Employer Network teams is also very encouraging. There’s plenty of support available, so if you’re interested in pursuing an apprenticeship or hiring an apprentice, I urge you to get in contact with CITB to find out how we can support you.”