COMMENT 15 This is particularly important as the
CITB’s grant scheme also needs to be simplified to be more accessible to smaller employers. Too few SME levy payers are claiming back CITB grants and this is primarily because the process is too complicated and bureaucratic. The CITB needs to make all of its processes as simple and straightforward as possible. Unlike larger firms, most SMEs cannot afford to employ people who dedicate their time to drafting CITB grant applications in order to
ensure their firm maximises opportunities to claim back grants. If we want SMEs to train more apprentices and upskill their workforce, all forms of CITB grant funding pots need to be as easy to access as the new CITB Flexible Fund, which is proving successful in making sure that small firms can access funding to train. However, the wider picture remains clouded by the recent introduction of a second levy – the Government’s new Apprenticeship Levy, which applies to all firms with a payroll of over £3m. Large firms in the industry are now finding themselves hit with two levies. This might not be such a bad thing, if it was certain to drive up apprenticeship training in a way that would benefit the industry. Yet, though the Apprenticeship Levy will raise a significant amount of money from large firms to spend on apprenticeship training, due to the prevalence of subcontracting
and self-employment in our industry, there is a likelihood that huge amounts of this funding pool will be lost to the industry and will not end up funding apprenticeship training. As such, we have strongly urged the Government to revisit the possibility of allowing greater flexibility on the spending of Apprenticeship Levy vouchers on supply chain partners, specifically raising the cap of 10 per cent of Apprenticeship Levy funds being spent in a firm’s supply chain. The FMB has decided to give its support for the continuation of the CITB levy, but this support shouldn’t be interpreted as support for the status quo. The status quo can’t continue and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Unless we get this right, the construction skills crisis will continue to worsen, the industry will struggle to grow, the wider economy will suffer and delivery of much-needed housing and infrastructure will be hindered.
THE FMB HAS DECIDED TO GIVE ITS SUPPORT FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE CITB LEVY, BUT THIS SUPPORT SHOULDN’T BE INTERPRETED AS SUPPORT FOR THE STATUS QUO
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