From the organisers of the Natural Stone Show

 

 

 
Training

Money available for masonry training
, By Eric Bignell

Mark Priestman of Priestman Associates LLP, who writes a column on training in the Natural Stone Specialist magazine each month, has news of money now available for training.

As ever, it is limited, so if you want to take advantage of the offers you need to act quickly. You can contact Mark at mark@priestmanweb.com.

He says the Natural Stone Industry Training Group has £10,000 to spend on free courses for the sector, which you can find out about from the NSITG Secretariat, Ian Major, at ian.major@stonetrain.org.uk.

Another method of extracting funding towards training is from ConstructionSkills. Pretty much all contractors know what it means to be a ConstructionSkills levy-payer, but not so many are aware that for smaller businesses training grants from ConstructionSkills kick in before you get to the point of having to pay the levy.

You can check out if you could benefit from this ‘in-scope’ status by going to: www.cskills.org/levy-grant/levy/index.aspx.

An example of a really amazing funding deal for in-scope contractors comes from Esteem. Its training is associated with the Federation of Master Builders, but can be used up by non-FMB members.

The course on offer is the NVQ Level 5 Management Diploma. It is usually £2,100, but email Krishma at krishma@esteem.uk.com and she’s likely to apply funding to your enrolment to lower the price to £375+VAT.

Plus, if you are doing the maths, don’t forget that levy payers can claim back up to £650 per ‘achiever’ (as they are called) for this qualification.

The programme spans eight months of flexi-study facilitated through the black arts of Skype, Webinars and E-portfolios. Space is limited, so make contact now if you want to take part.

This autumn’s NVQs from Priestman Associates for stonemasonry trainees has been expanded with the addition of Paving Installer, Site Technician, Construction Site Management and Heritage Façade Preservation.

These are in addition to the existing programme of Façade Preservation, Stonemasonry (with its various specialisms in Cutting, Banker Masonry, Cladding, Fixer Masonry, Floor Fixing, Repairing and Heritage Skills) and Site Supervision.

And there is even some funding available for these courses, so anyone who wants to up-skill should email Mark. The address again is mark@priestmanweb.com.