For most, you’ll know the benefits of being a member of CITB, most notably the funding that decorators can access to boost their continuous professional development.
If you have accessed their grants, you’ll know that limited companies with at least one employee is entitled to up to £5000 per year. For smaller companies who are registered with CIS, it’s up to £2500. But what most don’t realise, or at least never utilise, is that it is available each year. So, every year you can claim the same amount as the previous year if your company still qualifies.
How does CITB link to continuous professional development?
But let me back up for those who don’t know or think this is too good to be true. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is a UK-based organisation that supports the construction industry by providing training and education to construction professionals, including continuous professional development for those working in the decorating industry. Now, CITB works with a wide range of partners, including construction-based companies, training organisations (such as ours), and government agencies, to deliver training and support to its members. To do this, among many things, they offer funding and grants for training, advice and guidance on industry-specific issues, and access to a network of industry experts. You can read more on this blog.
Download Now: Further CITB Funding Information
CITB support
Overall, CITB aims to help the construction industry thrive by supporting the development of a skilled and competent workforce. Their backing of our courses means that our courses, which can be paid for via their funding, are trusted by them to ensure that you get the skills, knowledge and experience needed to boost business, take on more projects and bring in more money.
One course won’t change your world.
CITB realise that training isn’t a one-hit wonder and understands the need for continued professional development year after year, either with new courses, follow-on courses (introduction to intermediate), or even taking the same courses as a refresher the following year. Have you ever watched a film for the second or third time and noticed something you didn’t before? Training courses are the same. There’s a lot of information flying at you, it can be overwhelming, and it’s normal to miss things. Taking a further or the same course a year apart can be highly beneficial. It’s why continued personal development (CPD) is a multi-multimillion pound industry.
Know that continuous professional development aims to:
- Improved job performance: By staying up-to-date on the latest industry trends and techniques, professionals can perform their jobs more effectively and efficiently.
- Increased competitiveness: In a competitive job market, CPD can help individuals stay relevant and marketable by demonstrating a commitment to professional development.
- Greater job satisfaction: CPD can help individuals feel more fulfilled and motivated in their work, as they can learn and grow in things they enjoy doing.
- Enhanced career prospects: Engaging in CPD can help decorators advance and open up new job opportunities.
- Improved client outcomes: By staying current on the latest developments in their field, decorators can provide better service and outcomes for their clients.
The benefits of CPD outweigh the cost, and when you get everything for free through CITB funding, it’s hard to see any downside.
Decorators have been in decline.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of decorators in the UK who focus on continuing professional development (CPD) because there is no central database or regulatory body for decorators in the UK, however, CITB do have some stats for the construction industry.
What we do know, though from newspaper research that in 2015 there is a shortage of decorators in the UK. In London and the South East there’s a shortfall of 33,000 alone. We also know that as people lose their employment or struggle during the cost living more so called DIY’ers are going to be turning the those ‘easy to do’ trades (their opinion), without the skill or investment that is needed. If we look at this and a snippet from Mike Gregory’s blog in Decorator Forum, it’s simple to realise without continuous professional development you’re going to be competing with cowboys, unskilled and untrained for your £45,000 per year salary. With training and ongoing CPD to push yourself to become a Specialist decorator, such as those that can spray paint, you’ll be able to set yourself above that level of low income competition and earn £75,000 per year.
Year on year funding.
As hinted above, CITB offers those registered for funding the same amount of funding year after year without the need to register each year. All they ask is for you to complete a yearly levy form which everyone who has used the skills & training fund or accessed grants needs to do, regardless of whether they have used CITB funding for one or multiple years. So, if you take £5000 for training in year one, you can do that again for year two and onwards for the same effort. The other benefit is that from year two onwards, there’s a better chance of us requesting the money on your behalf, so there’s less work for you to do.
By using CITB’s grants from year two onwards, your business stands a greater chance of being highly successful.
If you’ve had funding before.
If you have had CITB grants spent with us or elsewhere, or have unspent funding, it’s worth getting back in touch and getting access to more free funding without any hassle. Remember, CITB’s grants are intended to support the training and development of construction professionals and companies like yours.
There is no limit to the number of years you can claim for; as long as your wage bill stays under that threshold, you’ll never have to pay for it. But,But it if you are lucky enough to have expanded to the point of having to pay a levy it’s still worthwhile. If you have questions please see our blog on The most asked CITB questions
Continuous professional development has never been so easy. Feel free to book a call back call with us.
