The Construction Industry Training Board has announced a sudden cut in training grants and funding for popular courses.

CITB chiefs said the cuts were “due to the success” of Employer Networks and the New Entrant Support Team (NEST).

The training body said demand for its services has grown by 36% over the last four years while the Levy rate had remained the same.

It said: “At current levels, demand for CITB support will exceed its Levy income. Without action, CITB risks being unable to support any of these programmes.”

Latest accounts published by the CITB for the year to March 31 2024 show it was sitting on a £95.2m cash pile.

The latest cuts will come into effect within weeks so the CITB can avoid a surge of claims to beat the deadline.

Changes from January 8 will include:

• Removal of short course training grant, with Employer Networks as the main replacement funding route and a small number of courses to still be grant funded.

• The scope of what is funded by Employer Networks is changing, as well as a reduction of the rate to 50% match funding

• Funding for level 7 qualifications and attendance grant from long qualifications will be stopped

• All non-apprentice achievement grants will be £600.

The remaining changes will come into effect from April 1 2026. These are:

• Large employers will be moved to a single large employer funding offer

• Large employers will no longer be able to access Employer Networks.

The cuts follow another round of sudden funding changes which sparked industry outrage earlier this year.

Tim Balcon, Chief Executive, CITB, said: “First and foremost, we want to apologise for the short notice for some of these changes. This was done to avoid surge claiming that will put our ability to support employers at risk.

“We had planned to transition our funding model gradually, giving employers time to adjust. The pace of demand growth means we need to act faster than we intended – and faster than we would have liked.

“While it is good news that there has been an increase in demand for our services, we have maintained the same Levy rate. This balanced against the increased demand means it’s necessary to bring forward changes to ensure we’re delivering the greatest value for the greatest number of employers.

“We appreciate this is a change for employers at a challenging time. We want to assure you we are here to support you – to find out how, please visit the CITB website or contact your local CITB engagement advisor.”