CITB 2024-25 Figures Show £130m Spent on Grant Support

IN ITS year end figures, released today, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) reports it invested nearly £130m in grant support to construction employers during 2024-25.

Of the total grant support from CITB, over £4.2m was provided to the roofing sector.

£71.4m was provided through the organisation’s various apprenticeship grants to support 30,000 learners and 10,000 employers, the majority of which were small and micro construction firms.

A further £50m was shared via its other grants, including £20m for Qualification Grants and £30.5m for Short Course Grants.

During 2024-25, CITB also invested £7.7m in the Travel to Train grant scheme which helps employers pay for their apprentices’ travel costs to and from their college or training provider, including any accommodation costs required for overnight stays. This equated to over 3,500 learners and 1,300 employers being supported by the scheme.

CITB Grant Initiatives

The figures also show the New Entrant Support Team (NEST), which provides hands-on, free support to help employers recruit apprentices, supported 4,128 new apprenticeship starts during the financial year, almost double the 2,340 the year prior.

Additionally, CITB’s Employer Networks initiative, offering training and financial support for employers, recorded supporting 50,966 learners in its second full year of operation – up from 11,468 the previous, inaugural year.

The publication of these figures follows the recent release of CITB’s Strategic Plan 2025-29, in which the organisation pledged £860m over the lifetime of the Plan to help attract new learners into the industry and support employers to train and develop their workforce.

Adrian Beckingham, Strategy and Policy Director at CITB, commented: “We want to provide timely, effective support for construction firms of all shapes and sizes. The uptake of our Grants Scheme is excellent to see – our apprenticeships grant support is 14% over our target last FY.

“The fact that 90% of firms receiving our apprenticeship grant support are small and micro businesses is even more heartening – over two-thirds of apprenticeship starts in the construction industry are employed by companies of fewer than 50 employees. The health of smaller construction firms is vital for the wider industry to prosper.

“The amazing performances of our NEST and Employer Network teams is also very encouraging. There’s plenty of support available, so if you’re interested in pursuing an apprenticeship or hiring an apprentice, I urge you to get in contact with CITB to find out how we can support you.”

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