At present, CITB offers employer and apprentice support for 7,000 contracted apprenticeships, which is only about a third of the total marketplace.
CITB will no longer actively recruit for new starts beyond April 2021. Prospective candidates and their employers will be referred instead to alternative training providers. All current CITB apprentices will continue to be supported through to completion.
Under the new plan, which is all related to CITB’s Vision 2020 strategy of withdrawing from the delivery of training, CITB will offer a support service to all employers with apprentices, on an employer demand-led basis. To facilitate this, CITB will transfer 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 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 working with colleges and training providers.
For apprentices CITB will provide careers advice and e-learning support for Maths and English. Employers will supervise apprentices but CITB says it will offer help when asked, “particularly for those with educational and social needs or who are at risk of leaving”.
CITB head of apprenticeships Deborah Madden 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.”
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