The CITB has given the industry only a few weeks notice that it will be closing the current Skills & Training (S&T) fund which is worth up to £10,000 to many smaller contractors.

Other cuts include an early ending of enhanced grants for grandfather rights transitioning under the Construction Skills Certificate Scheme.

One contractor said: “After so much work we put into planning our training in a proactive way and being so encouraged by the CITB to apply for the range of funding , changing the rules, particularly to the S&T fund with no notice whatsoever has completely blindsided us.

“Today we are right back to the drawing board trying limit the damage it has caused to our plans and aspirations.”

Another added: “I can’t believe this is happening at a time when there is a shortage of people both entering and currently in the industry and when the CITB should be supporting training to ensure more skilled/trained workers are in the industry.”

CITB said the the S&T fund is being terminated because it overlaps with the newer Employer Networks funding route.

A CITB spokesperson said: “We are changing the way funding is accessed, which will enable us to support more employers. We regularly engage with a range of employers across the industry, and one of the consistent pieces of feedback we received is to simplify our funding routes. We’ve listened and these changes support a more streamlined approach.

“Employer Networks have proven to be very successful, supporting over 4,000 employers last year – the majority of which were SME and micro businesses. They provide bespoke, easy-to-access training and financial support for employers. Additionally, they enable CITB to be more responsive to industry needs on both regional and national levels.”