CITB Employer Networks: How Funded Training Works

Employer Networks are now the main way CITB part funds day to day training for small and medium construction firms. They replaced several older schemes, they are free to join, and the money is real. But there is one rule about booking that decides whether you see a penny of it, so it pays to understand how the system works before you plan a training budget around it.

Figures checked on CITB's website in July 2026.

What an Employer Network is

Employer Networks are local collaborations of construction employers, funded by CITB, set up so training decisions get made closer to where the work actually is. Instead of applying to a national grants pot for every course, member employers get access to a local funding arrangement with published rates and annual caps. CITB explains the model on its Employer Networks page.

Who can join, and what it costs

Membership is free. To join you need to be levy registered with CITB, have your Levy Returns up to date, and have no arrears owing to CITB. Note the word registered rather than paying: plenty of small firms are registered but pay no levy at all, and they qualify just the same. If the levy side of that sentence is a mystery, our CITB levy guide untangles who registers, who pays and who is exempt.

What the funding is worth in 2026

From April 2026, employers with 1 to 249 staff get one of two things on eligible training: 50% match funding, or a fixed contribution for the most popular health and safety courses. The fixed rates include £115 towards SMSTS and SSSTS and £55 towards their refreshers, from CITB's published list of supported courses. There are annual caps by company size for 2026-27:

• Micro, 1 to 9 staff: £1,500
• Small, 10 to 49 staff: £2,000
• Medium, 50 to 249 staff: £4,500

The caps are set out in CITB's Employer Network policy statement. One more limit to plan around: each course can be funded once per person, so the same person cannot be funded through the same course twice.

The booking rule that catches people out

Funding is only paid on training booked through CITB's Employer Network Booking Team. CITB's own wording is blunt: only training booked through this team is eligible. You cannot book a course yourself at an online checkout, on any website including CourseGenie, and claim the money back afterwards. The funded route runs: join your network, agree the training, and let the booking team, or someone working through that channel, place the booking.

Who the funding covers

It is broader than payroll. Funding covers your PAYE staff, CIS subcontractors whether you pay them net or gross, and sole traders working for the employer. For a small firm whose site team is mostly subbies, that matters: the people who actually need an SMSTS or SSSTS ticket are covered even if they are not employees.

Larger firms, and the schemes that closed

Employers with 250 or more staff are outside Employer Networks from 2026-27. For them there is a Large Employer Fund worth up to £18,000, with expressions of interest open from 1 April to 30 June 2026, per CITB's funding update. Two older routes are gone: the Skills and Training Fund closed on 30 September 2025, with existing agreements honoured, and CITB funding for Training Groups ended after 31 March 2026, with the money redirected into Employer Networks.

Where CourseGenie fits, honestly

A standard online checkout booking on CourseGenie is not an Employer Network funded booking, and the fixed contribution cannot be claimed back against one. Book at checkout when the trade off runs that way: you need confirmed dates this week, or you want to compare live prices across every venue before committing.

Have a business account with CourseGenie, or booking for a team? We can arrange Employer Network funded places on these courses through our CITB registered training provider. The funded booking is processed through CITB's Employer Network channel, and we handle the arranging. Start with a group enquiry.

NVQs are simpler still, because the £600 qualification grant is claimed from CITB on achievement, with no requirement to book through any particular channel, per CITB's short qualification grant page. A registered employer can book the Level 6 Site Management NVQ here at £1,500 and still claim the grant. Our SMSTS and SSSTS funding guide covers the course by course rates in detail.

Common questions

Can I book at checkout on CourseGenie and claim 50% back from my Employer Network? No. Only training booked through CITB's Employer Network Booking Team is eligible, so a checkout booking cannot be claimed against Employer Network funding afterwards. If you want the funded route, send us a group enquiry and we can arrange a funded place through our CITB registered provider instead.

Do I have to pay levy to join a network? No. You need to be levy registered with your Levy Returns up to date and no CITB arrears. Firms that are registered but exempt from paying qualify on the same terms.

Can the network fund the same course for the same person twice? No. Each course can be funded once per person under the network rules, so plan multi year training around the annual caps instead.

The two routes are not rivals; use both. Join your local network through CITB for the funded rates, and when the job cannot wait, every live SMSTS and SSSTS date is compared here with instant confirmation. Booking several people at once? Request a group quote and we will take it from there.