New Scottish Government fund launches and the CITB publish their nations plan for Scotland

In late June and early July, there were two separate developments which our members in Scotland need to know about. One is a new funding source and the other concerns skills and training.

MCS Certification Fund launches

For some members this new fund will be directly relevant. For others, it will be your subcontractors who need to know about this. Either way, the Energy Saving Trust reached out to the FMB to promote the fund.

What is the fund?

The Scottish Government’s MCS Certification Fund provides heating engineers with funds to pay their first-year fees to become MCS certified on heat pumps (either air, ground or water source).

What does it pay?

The grant pays 75% of the certification fees up to £1,000 and runs until the end of March 2025 or until funding runs out.

Is MCS Certification important?

Having MCS certification in Scotland for heat pumps has never been more important as polluting heating systems like gas and oil boilers will be prohibited in all Scottish homes and buildings by 2045.

The UK government has committed to installing 600,000 heat pumps every year from 2028. Anyone installing a heat pump or other renewable system under a Scottish Government scheme must be MCS-certified.

What else do I need to know?

Funding cannot be offered retrospectively to those who are already MCS-certified as this scheme is only for those that are not yet MCS certified for heat pumps.

For more information on the fund and details on how to apply please visit the Energy Saving Trust website.

Construction Skills and Training: CITB launch their Nation Plan for Scotland

The FMB has regular engagement with the CITB Scotland team as construction skills, training and apprenticeships are critically important for our members.

Back in December 2023, your FMB Scotland Board received an update from the CITB’s Scotland Director on the CITB’s achievements and activities in Scotland. The CITB briefing informing everyone that a new Nations Plan for Scotland would be launched in 2024.

The full nations plan for Scotland is here.

Here are my four key observations from it for members:

• The CITB will continue to deliver Scottish Apprenticeships as part of their contract with Skills Development Scotland (SDS). A minimum of 1426 construction craft apprentices will be recruited over 2024/25.
• Their New Entrant Support Team will support employers to recruit apprentices, access apprenticeship grants and securing suitable training provision.
• They aim to ensure employers with a requirement for an apprentice where delivery is not offered in Scotland, are supported to access the provision and financial support available. Quite how they will do this, is key.
• CITB Scotland will develop and implement a CITB national engagement strategy, supported by local engagement teams to encourage and support ex-offenders, military service leavers and young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) into a career in construction, providing employers with access to a pipeline of talent ready for employment.

What happens next?

Please share your views with me on the nations plan. I will be following up with the CITB on what the plan means for our members after the summer.

Authors

Gordon Nelson

FMB Scotland Hub Director, Federation of Master Builders

Director, Federation of Master Builders Scotland

Gordon has nearly twenty years’ experience of working in membership organisations in Scotland and joined the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in 2014. Prior to this, he worked at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and for Unilever in business development, membership management and business-to-business marketing roles. Amongst his responsibilities in his role as the Director for FMB Scotland are public affairs, media relations, governance and representing member’s interests to Scottish policy makers and stakeholders within the Scottish construction industry. Gordon is the Secretary of the Cross-Party Group on Construction in the Scottish Parliament, and he is a member of the Scottish Building Standards Futures Board. Gordon represents the FMB on Scotland’s Construction Industry Collective Voice: which is comprised of the leading construction trade and professional bodies. In spring 2023 Gordon was appointed as an industry co-chair of the Construction Leaderships Forum’s (CLF) Transformation Board.

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