The extra cash, which comes from an increase in the annual levy from construction firms announced last month, will be spent on recruiting school leavers and older trainees, funding on-the-job experience and on-site training.
CITB chief executive Peter Lobban said the move was a response to industry requests for help with training needs. He said: "These measures will help employers to recruit and retain workers more easily and so reduce skills shortages." The sum includes an extra 拢2.5m for the youth new entrant training grant. Grants for first-year trainees will be increased by 50%, as have grants for those reaching construction-related NVQ level 3.
The adult new entrant training grant, aimed at workers in their 20s and 30s, has also doubled. Each recruit will now receive 拢50 per day instead of 拢25, or up to 拢5500 per person over two years, for every day they have off-site training.
