Close to £2 million in CITB funding has been given to small, medium and micro-sized construction firms over the last 12 months.
A whopping 442 SMEs across Great Britain have successfully applied for £1.9 million in funding, with an increasing number of firms from Scotland and Wales, including some in Gateshead, Aberystwyth and on the Scottish islands.
The recipients have successfully applied for the Skills & Training fund, which grants up to £5000 for levy payers with fewer than 50 employees, to provide skills and training to their workforce. Over 1000 construction workers have received training through the fund.
Horizon Civil Engineering Ltd. is a well-established SME based in South Wales. The firm will receive £5,000 upskill its staff to complete two new business activities.
Jere Burridge, Senior Manager at Horizon Civil Engineering Ltd., said: ‘At Horizon, we pride ourselves on quality, health and safety and sustainability. We recently introduced two new activities to grow the business – developing commercial industrial units and installing digital signs. We therefore need to upskill our existing workforce so we have the skills required to complete these activities, and we will be using the funding from CITB to do so. ’
Geeta Nathan, Head of Economic Analysis at CITB, said: ‘Small, medium and micro-sized businesses make up a huge proportion of the construction industry and it’s vital that we support their training and skills needs. It’s so great to see so many firms successfully applying for the Skills and Training Fund – £1m is a milestone we should all be proud of – and I’d encourage every levy-paying SME to do the same.’
The next opportunity to apply for the Skills and Training Fund will open on the 7th of February 2017. To find out more click here.