CITB Levy and Training Grants UK — How Trade Businesses Can Claim Back Training Costs in 2026

Most small trade businesses pay for their training out of pocket — CSCS cards, first aid, scaffold inspection, IPAF licences — without realising there is a government-backed body that exists specifically to fund exactly this kind of training. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) distributes tens of millions of pounds in training grants every year, and any registered construction employer can claim them. You do not need to be a large firm. You do not need to pay into the levy. You just need to know the system and register before the money runs out.

What the CITB is

The Construction Industry Training Board is a statutory body established under the Industrial Training Act 1982. Its purpose is to ensure the UK construction industry has enough skilled workers by funding and promoting training. It does this by collecting a levy from larger construction employers and redistributing that money as grants to employers who invest in training.

The CITB covers a wide range of construction trades — not just the obvious ones like bricklaying and groundwork, but also plumbing, electrical installation, roofing, scaffolding, painting and decorating, plant operation, and more. If your work falls within the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes for construction, your business is likely within scope.

The CITB is separate from the government's apprenticeship levy system. Both exist alongside each other, and a construction employer may interact with both — but they operate independently.

Who pays the CITB levy

The levy is calculated on your total wage bill, including both directly employed staff (PAYE wages) and labour-only subcontractors (net CIS payments). The thresholds and rates for 2026 are:

• Under £120,000 in total wages and LOSC payments: currently exempt under the small business exemption. No levy is due.
• £120,000 to £399,999: 0.35% of PAYE wages plus 1.25% of net CIS/labour-only subcontractor payments.
• £400,000 and above: 0.35% of PAYE wages plus 1.25% of net CIS payments.
• Sole traders with no employees: not directly liable for the levy, as there are no PAYE wages or LOSC payments to assess.

The CITB assesses levy liability annually based on figures you submit. If you are in the exempt band, you will not receive a levy assessment — but you can still register with the CITB and claim grants.

Why it matters even if you don't pay the levy

This is the part most small trade businesses miss. The CITB's grant programme is open to any registered employer in the construction industry — regardless of whether they pay the levy. If your payroll sits below £120,000 and you are fully exempt from the levy, you can still register for free and claim grants for training that you would have paid for out of pocket anyway.

The grants cover a substantial chunk of the cost of many safety-critical courses. For a sole trader who takes on occasional subcontractors, or a small firm with two or three employees, the Skills & Training Fund alone — which offers up to £2,500 per year — can effectively eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of all their annual training requirements.

If you are not registered and not claiming, you are leaving money on the table that other businesses in your sector are actively using.

How to register with the CITB

Registration is free and done online at CITB.co.uk. The process typically takes a few days, as the CITB will verify that your business operates in a qualifying construction trade. You will need your company or sole trader details, a description of the work you carry out, and your PAYE reference if you employ staff.

Once registered, you will receive a CITB employer number and can access the grants portal. You must be registered before you can submit any grant claims — you cannot back-claim for training completed before your registration date.

If you have staff or subcontractors, you will also be asked to complete an annual Levy Return, which is how the CITB assesses whether you owe levy and at what rate. Even if you owe nothing, submitting the return is a requirement of remaining registered.

Types of grants available

The CITB offers several categories of grant, each covering different types of training. The amounts and eligibility criteria are updated periodically, so always check the CITB grants portal for the current schedule. As of 2026, the main categories are:

Apprenticeship grants

The CITB pays grants to employers who take on construction apprentices. The current rates are up to £2,500 per apprentice for the first year and £1,500 for each subsequent year of the apprenticeship. These grants are paid directly to the employer and are separate from the government's apprenticeship training funding (which covers the training provider's costs). This means you can stack both: the government covers 95% of training costs and the CITB pays you a per-year grant on top.

Short course grants

These cover a long list of accredited short courses relevant to construction. Grant values typically range from £70 to £800 per course depending on the type. Courses commonly covered include:

• CSCS Health, Safety & Environment (HS&E) test
• First aid at work (including Emergency First Aid at Work)
• Scaffold inspection (CISRS card courses)
• PASMA (towers) and IPAF (mobile elevating work platforms)
• Asbestos awareness (Category A)
• Health and safety awareness and site safety plus courses
• Plant operator tickets and CPCS renewals

You can check the current short course grant schedule on the CITB grants portal. Not every course qualifies, and the provider delivering the training must meet CITB's quality criteria.

Skills & Training Fund

This is the most useful grant for small trade businesses. The Skills & Training Fund provides up to £2,500 per year for employers with fewer than 250 employees to spend on almost any training that benefits the business. Unlike the short course grants — which pay fixed amounts for specific accredited courses — the Skills & Training Fund is more flexible. You submit a training plan outlining what training you intend to carry out and why, and if approved, you can draw down against actual training spend throughout the year.

Eligible spend includes CSCS cards, plant licences, trade-specific technical courses, safety qualifications, and supervisory training. You need to retain invoices and certificates as evidence, and claims must be submitted within the grant year.

The fund opens each April and is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. It can run out before the year is up, particularly for popular grant categories. Apply in April as soon as the new grant year opens.

Leadership & Management grants

The CITB also provides grants for supervisory and management training — useful if you are growing your team and want to develop a site manager or foreman. Courses leading to SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme) and SSSTS (Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme) qualifications are commonly covered. Grant values vary by qualification level.

How to claim grants

All grant claims are submitted online through the CITB grants portal. The process for most short course and apprenticeship grants is straightforward: log in, select the course or grant type, enter the details of the training completed, attach evidence (invoice and certificate or card), and submit.

Most claims must be submitted within six months of the training completing. If you miss the six-month window, the grant is forfeited — there is no appeal process for late claims. Set a reminder to submit claims promptly after each course.

Keep your invoices and certificates organised. The CITB may audit claims and will ask for evidence. A course confirmation email is not sufficient — you need the training provider's VAT invoice and the certificate or card issued on completion.

CSCS cards and the CITB connection

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card is not run by the CITB — it is administered separately by CSCS Ltd, a company owned by the industry's main trade bodies. However, the CITB's Health, Safety & Environment (HS&E) test is a prerequisite for most CSCS card types. Without a valid HS&E test pass, most CSCS cards cannot be issued or renewed.

The good news is that the CITB HS&E test fee (£22.50 per attempt) is eligible for a short course grant. If you or your employees need to sit or re-sit the test, claim the grant — it is one of the simplest grants to process and is approved quickly.

Certain CSCS card application fees may also be covered depending on the card type and the grant year. Check the current short course grant schedule for the specific card category.

Apprenticeship funding: separate from CITB

It is worth being clear on how apprenticeship funding works alongside the CITB, because the two systems are commonly confused. The government's Apprenticeship Service (apprenticeships.education.gov.uk) funds the training provider's costs for apprenticeships. For small employers with fewer than 50 employees, the government pays 95% of the approved training cost and the employer pays 5%. This is entirely separate from the CITB.

The CITB's apprenticeship grants — up to £2,500 in year one and £1,500 per subsequent year — are paid on top of this. So a small construction employer taking on an apprentice can access government training funding through the Apprenticeship Service and CITB grants simultaneously. Both need to be applied for separately.

For a full breakdown of how apprenticeship funding works and what your responsibilities are as an employer, see our guide on how to hire an apprentice as a tradesperson.

Practical advice: getting the most from CITB grants

A few habits will ensure you extract real value from the system:

• Register even if you are exempt from the levy. There is no cost and no ongoing obligation beyond submitting an annual Levy Return. Grant access alone makes registration worthwhile.
• Apply for the Skills & Training Fund in April. It opens at the start of the CITB grant year and can run out. Submitting early improves your chances of securing the full £2,500 allocation.
• Plan your training year in advance. The Skills & Training Fund requires a training plan. Knowing what training you need in the next 12 months — CSCS renewals, first aid refreshers, new plant tickets — lets you submit a comprehensive plan and maximise your allocation.
• Use grants for safety-critical training that you need to do anyway. PASMA, IPAF, first aid, asbestos awareness — these are courses most trade businesses must put their workers through regardless. Claiming the grant makes them significantly cheaper or free.
• Submit claims within six months of each course completing. Do not let claims expire. A brief admin task at the end of each training day can save the claim from being lost.
• Keep invoices and certificates filed properly. Organise by employee and course date. If the CITB audits a claim, you need to produce evidence quickly. A shared folder or job management system with a training section prevents scrambling through emails months later.

The CITB system rewards businesses that engage with it consistently. If you treat grants as an afterthought, you will miss claims and leave money uncollected. If you treat it as a routine part of how you manage training spend — plan, claim, file — it materially reduces your training costs year after year.