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Open Doors back in full swing

Open Doors back in full swing

Build UK has confirmed that Open Doors 2021 is back and will take place from Monday 4 ‐ Saturday 9 October. This year will see a combination of site visits and ‘live’ virtual experiences.

Open Doors provides an opportunity for young people and those looking for a change of career to find out what the industry has to offer by going behind the site hoardings and seeing the diverse range of opportunities available. This year, Build UK has partnered with he Careers and Enterprise Company, Considerate Constructors Scheme and New Futures Network, to inspire as many people as possible to choose a career in construction.

A virtual workshop will be held on Thursday 24 June from 9am ‐ 10am for Open Doors Coordinators, where they will discuss plans for this year’s event in more detail. Your nominated Open Doors Coordinator should have received an invite.

Cash boost for apprenticeships launched

Cash boost for apprenticeships launched

From 1 June 2021 employers of all sizes in England can apply for extra funding to help them take on new apprentices.  The boost to the apprenticeship incentive scheme was confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget in March.  Business can apply to claim £3,000 for each new apprentice hired as a new employer from 01 April until 30 September 2021.  The cash incentive is designed to help more employers invest in the skilled workforce they need for the future as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs.

This is in addition to the £1000 available for:

  • aged 16 to 18 years old
  • under 25 with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority.

Employers can choose how to spend the cash, for example, covering uniform or travel costs for the apprentice.

In Scotland
£5,000 for employers taking on or upskilling a 16 to 24-year old apprentice, and for those aged up to 29 years who are disabled, care leavers and Minority Ethnic.

£3,500 for employers taking on or upskilling an apprentice aged 25 plus.

In Wales
Until 30 September 2021 businesses will be able to claim up to £4,000 for each new apprentice, they hire under the age of 25.

Skills and Training Lead George Swann said:

“Now is the ideal time to recruit the workforce of the future via apprenticeships.  For more information on the options available to employers please see the FIS Apprentice – Guidance for Employers.  If you would like to discuss this please give us a call we will be happy to help.”

 

How to deliver a high quality, successful apprenticeship

How to deliver a high quality, successful apprenticeship

The road to a quality apprenticeship

The road to a quality apprenticeship has been published by Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to help employers understand the steps involved in delivering high quality, successful apprenticeships in their businesses.

A practical guide to aid employers of any size, The road to a quality apprenticeship provides links to information that employers can use to help them achieve a quality experience for their apprentices while maximising the benefits for their business.  It will be followed by similar guides for end-point assessment organisations and apprentices.

Additional funding for training and qualifications

Additional funding for training and qualifications

Additional Funding For Training And Qualifications Completed Between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021

The FIS Training Group has secured additional funding to support the cost of training and qualifications completed by FIS employer members in scope to CITB.

The additional funding, of up to £1,500 per company, covers a range of training from generic health and safety through to specialist courses such as spray plastering, deflection heads or fire door inspection and includes vocational qualification achievement.  This funding is in addition to the CITB grant eligible training (GET) code grant you already claim from CITB.

How to claim

Simply send the invoice for training completed since 1 August 2020 to info@thefis.org if it meets the criteria set out below, we will arrange a refund to the full 100% of the course cost (up to a maximum of £500 per delegate and £1,500 per company, less the grant already claimed from CITB).  The funding will be available on a first come, first served basis.

For a full list of eligible courses please see: CITB training standards

CITB GET Fund FIS Supplement Terms and Conditions

  1. The supplement cannot be used for GET codes that are already included on an individual employer contracted CITB Skills and Training allocation.
  2. An FIS supplement can only be paid to organisations ‘in scope’ to CITB and up to date with levy payments.
  3. The supplement is primarily for micro and small organisations no more than 25% of the total fund can be paid to large organisations (100 or more employees).
  4. Non grant eligible training is not covered by this supplement.
  5. Training must have taken place between 01 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 and have been completed before applying.
  6. Training must have been completed by delegates who are currently employed by or are NET (taxed) Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sub-contractors of CITB registered employers.
  7. Invoices supplied must show the full costs of the training completed including CITB registration number, Training Provider, course name, CITB GET code, Tier value, date of completion, number of delegates, course cost and VAT.
  8. Successful applications will be notified within 25 working days.
  9. Payments will be made in the first week of October 2020, first week of December 2020 and first week of March 2021.

Funding is limited so cannot be guaranteed.

FIS is happy to review and support all of your funding claims through our one to one Skills and Funding Clinics, remember at this time you can still claim CITB Grants for courses completed in 2019 up until end November 2020, our Skills and Funding Clinics will help you to identify and process these claims.

Deadline approaching for apprentice incentive payment

Deadline approaching for apprentice incentive payment

The deadline for employers to apply for the incentive payment for new apprentices hired between 1 August 2020 and March 2021 is approaching.  Eligible employers must apply for their incentive payment by 31 May 2021.

Incentive payment for apprentices who joined organisations before 1 April 2021 are:

  • Employers with apprentices who have a contract of employment start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 and who also have a practical period (training) start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 May 2021 are eligible for an incentive payment
  • For new apprentices aged 16 to 24, employers will receive £2,000
  • For new apprentices aged 25 and over, employers will receive £1,500
  • Employers must apply for these apprentices by the end of 31 May 2021
  • Employers can visit our guidance page for more details.

Employers can apply for the incentive payment via the Finances section in their apprenticeship service account.  For a walk-through of the process, employers can watch the support video.

There are six steps employers need to have completed before they apply for an incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice:

  1. They need to have registered an account on the apprenticeship service
  2. If they do not pay the apprenticeship levy, they need to have reserved funds in their apprenticeship service account
  3. They need to have recruited an apprentice
  4. They need to have added their apprentice to their apprenticeship service account
  5. They need to have agreed a start date for apprenticeship training to begin with their training provider
  6. They need to have accepted the latest version of the Education and Skills Funding Agency employer agreement

If employers require support with any of these steps, they can watch the how-to videos or visit the help portal, where they can access help articles, webchat with an adviser, call or text the helpline, or email the helpdesk.

Incentive payment for apprentices who join organisations from 1 April 2021 have been increased for hiring a new apprentice.  Employers could receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age who join their organisation from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.  Visit the guidance page for more details.

CITB to freeze levy rates

CITB to freeze levy rates

CITB has confirmed that Levy rates will remain the same for 2022-25 under proposals that its Board confirmed on 21 May.

CITB’s recent consultation with employers and leading industry figures supported draft proposals and these have now been agreed. The Levy will remain at pre-Covid rate of 0.35% for PAYE staff at 1.25% for CIS subcontractors.

Around 40,000 employers with a wage bill lower than £120,000 will still be exempt, with 14,000 having their Levy assessment halved if their wage bill is between £120,000 and £400,000.

From Monday 14 June to Sunday 15 August, CITB will be consulting on these Consensus proposals, where they will be asking a sample of Levy payers whether they agree that its proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in our industry over the next three years. The last Consensus was in 2017, with 76.9% agreed with CITB’s plans.

 You can read more about who takes part in the CITB consultations here, and more details about the Consensus process here.

SkillsBuild – are you involved?

FIS would like to hear from members who have individuals registered for the 2021 SkillsBuild Qualifiers, it would be good to follow their journey and other FIS members may also be able to offer support.  Please supply the details of your organisation, the name of the individual(s), the occupation they are competing in, the date and venue of the qualifier to georgeswann@thefis.org