by Clair Mooney | Nov 12, 2020 | Main News Feed
At a time when many programmes have been paused, CITB has maintained its support for a nationwide network of local and specialist Training Groups, so that employers who are Training Group members can access the local training they need.
However, CITB need to look at costs given the significant reduced levy income for the foreseeable future. At the same time, they need to consider what are the most effective ways to help companies access training at a local level, while ensuring value for money and quality of provision.
On Wednesday 11 November 2020, CITB launched an industry wide consultation on how best to provide support in future. This will help them understand the biggest benefits of Training Groups to employers and gather thoughts on the options CITB are presenting.
You can find the full options paper and the survey on the CITB website. If you need more information, please contact the CITB Partnership Team or give George a call.
by Clair Mooney | Nov 6, 2020 | Main News Feed
With the second lockdown for England now in force, education and training is set to continue across the country for all industries and sectors. Awarding Organisations are providing information to centres on acceptable approaches and contingencies to ensure government guidance aimed at reducing infection is applied. From what we have seen so far Training Providers for the construction industry are being encouraged to continue delivering training, assessment and qualifications, including end point assessments. Special measures that have enabled 25,000 apprentices to complete their end-point assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic will be retained until at least March 2021.
The FIS Approved Training Provider network will continue to deliver training and qualifications for FIS members and there are discounts and offers available, have a look at membership benefits on the membership hub. FIS is happy to help identify a supplier for your training needs, a list of available training and qualifications and suppliers can be found here or give us a call on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org.
by Clair Mooney | Nov 6, 2020 | Main News Feed
CITB has confirmed the Skills and Training fund can continue to support business with Covid-19 related resilience support. The deadline for reverting the
Skills and Training Fund will be extended to 31 December 2020. The fund was expanded earlier this year to include skill retention and sustainability projects and had been scheduled to revert on 1 December to supporting productivity and innovation projects only. CITB adapted to the COVID-19 situation by amending the scope of activity to support what businesses can apply for. The fund comprises two streams:
- A Skills and Training fund for micro and small businesses where businesses can apply for a maximum of £10,000 (full details and how to apply) depending on the size of the employer.
- A Skills and Training fund for medium-sized businesses where employers with up to 250 employees are eligible to receive up to £25,000 (full details and how to apply).
If you have not applied for CITB Skills and Training Fund, FIS will be happy to help. Call us on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org or you can book a Skills and Funding Clinic online at https://www.thefis.org/skills-hub/skills-clinics/
by Clair Mooney | Nov 5, 2020 | Main News Feed
The new points based system that will be implemented to control immigration from 1 January 2021 will have a significant impact on how and who we can engage individuals from outside the UK to work. With most of the detail available, FIS is conducting a snap survey to assess the impact on your business and to support our representative work in this area. Our concerns stem from how occupations have been determined “skilled” and the surprisingly hard line the Home Secretary has taken on shortage occupations. This will not impact those workers already working in the UK and successfully applying for pre-settled or settled status, but will have a profound impact on our ability to attract new people (or indeed those who have returned home for a period before securing any kind of settled status).
To support our attempts to assess the impact, we have created a short survey in which we would like to gather your best estimates for your business. We will be using the survey on a rolling basis and will keep it open until the 15th November.
In terms of immediate actions, there is new guidance from the CLC that FIS helped to pull together Movement of people – what should you be doing now? From this page you can also follow links to a more detailed explanation of how the new system will work, the scale of the problem and why FIS is concerned.
We are planning a planning a webinar to look at actions and options for later November, so keep an eye on our events page for details.
by Clair Mooney | Nov 5, 2020 | Main News Feed
Following the development of a new pandemic Standard announced back in August, an eCourse, ‘Setting up and operating a safe construction site during COVID-19’ is now live on CITB’s eCourses platform.
Government guidance is for construction sites to remain open, with a reminder to review social distancing measures and comply with the Site Operating Procedures ‐ Version 6. The COVID-19 eCourse can be used alongside existing guidelines to ensure sites remain open safely, and as the Standard is not grant supported, CITB is offering this online course FREE of charge. Aimed primarily at managers and supervisors, the course will enable the confident and knowledgeable delivery of toolbox talks, and cover topics such as, ‘Understanding a Virus’ and ‘Social Distancing’.
by Iain McIlwee | Nov 5, 2020 | Insurance, Main News Feed
Workers across the United Kingdom will benefit from increased support with a five-month extension of the furlough scheme into Spring 2021, the Chancellor announced today, 5 November.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will now run until the end of March with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked.
Similarly, support for millions more workers through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will be increased, with the third grant covering November to January calculated at 80% of average trading profits, up to a maximum of £7,500.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:
I’ve always said I would do whatever it takes to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK – and that has meant adapting our support as the path of the virus has changed.
It’s clear the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses than the duration of any restrictions, which is why we have decided to go further with our support.
Extending furlough and increasing our support for the self-employed will protect millions of jobs and give people and businesses the certainty they need over what will be a difficult winter.
The Chancellor also announced today an increase in the upfront guarantee of funding for the devolved administrations from £14 billion to £16 billion. This uplift will continue to support workers, business and individuals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The furlough scheme was initially extended until 2 December. But the government is now going further so that support can be put in place for long enough to help businesses recover and get back on their feet – as well as giving them the certainty they need in coming months. Evidence from the first lockdown showed that the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses than the duration of restrictions.
There are currently no employer contribution to wages for hours not worked. Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for hours not worked. For an average claim, this accounts for just 5% of total employment costs or £70 per employee per month. The CJRS extension will be reviewed in January to examine whether the economic circumstances are improving enough for employers to be asked to increase contributions.
Throughout the pandemic, the government has acted with speed to protect lives and safeguard jobs with an unprecedented £200 billion support package. The furlough scheme has protected over nine million jobs across the UK, and self-employed people have already received over £13 billion in support. This is in addition to billions of pounds in tax deferrals and grants for businesses.
On top of this, the government has announced:
- cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses which are closed worth more than £1 billion every month
- £1.1 billion is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly
- plans to extend existing government-backed loan schemes and the Future Fund to the end of January, and an ability to top-up Bounce Back Loans
- an extension to the mortgage payment holiday for homeowners
- up to £500 million of funding for councils to support the local public health response.
The full speech from the Chancellor is available here.
Visit the FIS COVID-19 Hub here.
