In December 2025 the CITB reshaped how construction training is funded, and the changes took effect through 2026. For scaffolders the picture is mixed. Your card training is largely protected. But the routes that funded career progression have narrowed, and the commercial side of the trade was never funded in the first place. This guide sets out what changed, what it means for you, and how to fund the training that actually moves you up.
What changed in 2026
Most short-course grants were withdrawn from the main Grants Scheme. Scaffolding, along with plant operations and a small number of specialist areas, was kept on the short-course grant at existing rates, so CISRS card training stays funded.[1][2]
NVQ support tightened. The enhanced grant that topped up higher-level NVQs was cut, and Level 7 qualifications starting on or after 8 December 2025 lost eligibility for support altogether.[1]
The Skills and Training Fund, which employers used to claim additional training money, closed. Employers now draw a flat qualification grant rather than a discretionary fund. Short-course support is moving into Employer Networks, with a new Large Employer Fund opening on 1 April 2026.[1]
What is still funded, and what is not
Funded: your CISRS card route. The practical, on-the-boards training that proves you are competent to scaffold is still grant-supported.[2]
Not funded, and never really was: the commercial and management side of scaffolding. Contracts, pricing, estimating, payment rights, CDM duties from a contractor's seat. CITB funds the trade skill. It does not fund the business of the trade.
That distinction matters most for anyone moving from the tools toward supervision, contract management or running their own firm. The 2026 changes did not create that gap. They made the self-funded routes around it more important.
Why the commercial side decides whether a job pays
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and your CISRS card settle whether you can build the scaffold.[3] They say nothing about whether the job makes money. That is decided by the contract: what you agreed to build, the conditions attached to your price, your rights when the job changes, and what you can do when payment is withheld.
Most scaffolding managers have never had a day of formal training on any of it. The paperwork before the dispute is the dispute.
How to fund your own progression now
With the discretionary funds closed, the realistic routes to commercial and management knowledge are employer investment or self-funded study.
Classroom commercial courses exist, but they run into four figures and take you off site for days at a time. Online, self-paced CPD covers the same ground for a fraction of that, on your own hours, with no grant application to chase.
That is what ScaffSkills was built for: eight CPD modules on contracts, pricing, CDM and payment rights, written in plain English for people who already know the trade. Modules 1 and 2 are free, full access is a one-off payment rather than a subscription, and the certificate is publicly verifiable.
What to do now
- Confirm what your CISRS card route still covers, and claim the scaffolding short-course grant while it stands.
- Separate the two budgets in your head: card and safety training, which is often funded, and commercial training, which rarely is. Plan for the second yourself.
- Start the commercial side before you need it. The manager who understands the contract before the dispute is the one who keeps the margin.
A grant pays for the card. It was never going to pay for the contract.
Sources
- CITB funding changes information and December 2025 FAQs. Construction Industry Training Board. citb.co.uk
- Short course grants (scaffolding retained at existing rates). CITB. citb.co.uk
- The Work at Height Regulations 2005. Health and Safety Executive. hse.gov.uk
The commercial side of scaffolding. Nobody teaches it.
ScaffSkills does. Eight CPD modules on contracts, pricing, CDM and payment rights. Modules 1 and 2 are free, no card or grant required.