News: Performance Management
Small construction firms would benefit from levy change
06 December 2007
Small construction firms are likely to be able to offer free training to staff next year if the threshold for the training levy paid by building firms is increased.
A Bill that will increase the threshold at which these companies pay the levy will go before parliament early next year, Personnel Today reports.
This will mean that small companies that pay annual wages of less than £76,000 will not have to pay the charge. This year firms paying £73,000 or above in wage bills had to pay.
A spokesperson for ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council for the construction industry, collects the levy from the firms and uses it to pay for grants to small firms who train staff.
The move will give more small firms in the sector access to training funds, in an industry where skill shortages are a real concern.
In general, construction workers gain their training while working at small firms.
