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News Item: CITB Announces Changes to Plant Standards and Grants

Plant standards and associated grant rates, across the construction industry, will be changed in January 2023, according to a recent announcement from CITB.

The changes come as a result of consultation with construction, plant, and tool hire employers, and the first changes will affect eight of the most used training grants:

  1. Excavator 360, above 10 tonnes (tracked)
  2. Forward tipping dumper (wheeled)
  3. Rear tipping dumper/dump truck: articulated chassis (all sizes)
  4. Ride-on roller
  5. Telescopic handler: all sizes excluding 360 slew
  6. Industrial forklift
  7. Plant and vehicle marshaller
  8. Slinger, signaller: all types, all duties

Grant rates are set to be increased and made less complex. A single grant for an increased amount will replace several smaller grants for testing and short course training.

The grant claims process remains simple, give your CITB registration number to the Approved Training Organisation (ATO) that’s offering the programme and the team will handle it on your behalf.

To be grant eligible the training must:

  • be delivered by a CITB ATO (such as Hire Association Europe)
  • be quality assured by the provider, the relevant card scheme displaying the CSCS logo and CITB
  • leads to a card displaying the CSCS logo

To address the ongoing construction skills shortage, an increased grant rate will be available to employers putting staff through operator training on equipment which they have no previous experience. This will also commence from January 2023.

The changes to grant payments and training standards are implemented to support employers in their effort to train more employees, and to improve the quality of the training available through ATOs. Plant operator training will be a priority in the new year, with over 1,330 new starters needed in the sector if it hopes to remain on top of construction-led demand.

Further changes will take place from April 2023, more information will be available nearer the time to help employers prepare. Click here for full details of the January changes.


Published: 21-07-2022