BTS Construction Quarter
Welcome to the BTS Construction Quarter, here you’ll find all things construction related, from courses available and funding options to useful links and information.
BTS has been working with the construction industry for a number of years, and over that time, the range of courses and support we can offer has grown.
Working closely with the CITB, the various Construction Groups and CITB Networks, as well as the various funding options available, we are well placed to best help our customers achieve the qualifications needed to work safely and confidently in this fast paced industry.
Scroll through the information on this page to find out more about the services we can offer. We’ve split the sections up to include an overview of various topics, including; The CITB, Funding Options, Approved Training Organisation, Training Courses and Useful Links.
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the Sector Skills Council
and Industry Training Board for the construction industry. It works
with construction companies to improve skills, increase competitive
edge and respond to the many challenges employers face.
There are a range of funding options through the CITB, as an Approved Training Organisation (ATO), we work with the CITB Grant for levy registered companies, Skills and Training Fund and the Employer Networks. More information on these funding routes can be found below.
We are registered with the CITB as an Approved Training Organisation (ATO), this means that we meet strict measures to ensure the training we deliver meets the demands of the industry, mapped and outlined to specific training standards. As an ATO, when you complete training with us, we automatically upload your details to the CITB Construction Training Register (CTR) and generate CITB grant payments. More information on this can be found below.
Training Groups are support networks of construction employers. They help employers access high quality, cost-effective training which is suitable for their individual needs. The Construction Groups are split between regional, national and skills specific area, depending on the work your company complete.
As an ATO, we work closely with a range of Construction Groups, including;
Capital Construction Training Group
Gwent Construction Training Group
Wales National Roofing Training Group
Four Construction Training Group
Swansea Bay Construction Training Group
National Demolition Training Group
Avon & Construction Training Group
Hereford & Worcester Construction Training Group
More information on the training groups can be found here; www.citb.co.uk/standards-and-delivering-training/training-groups/find-a-training-group/
Grant Claims
This is the traditional way in which CITB grants are paid to levy registered companies upon completion of training with an ATO.
As an ATO, any eligible training you complete with us, providing you have given us your CITB Levy Number, will be uploaded to the CITB CTR, this will then generate the CITB Grant payments to your company.
CITB Grant payments are only payable once a delegate has completed a particular course & provided us with specific personal information (NI Number / DOB for example). Only courses listed on the CITB approval list can be uploaded for grant claims.
The amount paid is broken into 3 tiers;
Tier 1: £60.00 per person
Tier 2: £140.00 per person
Tier 3: £240.00 per person
Eligible plant courses are subject to different grant rates, and depend on the type of plant training required. For more information on this, please click here.
There are different grant rates payable for refresher training
When you make a booking with BTS, we will ask for your CITB levy number, and upload the training information your delegates complete to the CITB CTR.
Employer Network
The CITB Employer Network (EN) launched on 23/09/24, from this date, CITB Levy Registered companies can book training through the EN to access discounted training.
CITB will pay 70% towards the cost of training, and you as the company then pay the remaining 30%.
This route can be more beneficial financially to companies compared to the tranditional grant payments that were traditionally paid, as the 70% contribution can equate to more than the original grant claim amount. However this is not always the case, and we would strongly advise anyone looking at the training to compare the two funding routes to work out which is the most cost effective for them, something we are able to assist with if needed.
One advantage of the EN is that some courses which have no grant payable may now be included, meaning you can now access funding towards courses that otherwise would have had no funding options available.
An example of this is the 3 day First Aid at Work, traditionally only levy exempt companies could get a grant payment against this, but by using the EN route, all CITB levy registered companies can now access funding.
This funding can only be used if you complete your training with an ATO, such as BTS. You must submit a request to your local CITB advisor (more details on this below), who will submit your training request to the EN team. They’ll then send approval to us as the ATO, who can then arrange your training.
Skills & Training
The Skills & Training fund (S&T) is a specific amount of money paid to CITB Levy Registered companies in advance to undertake training.
The S&T application can only be completed with CITB or a member of the CITB Construction Groups (more details on these below), rather than being completed with us as a training provider.
That being said, to complete a S&T application, you will need to gather information on the courses required, including the prices and duration, which we will be able to help with.
Once you have this information, your advisor will submit the application to CITB for approval.
The amount of money you can get from CITB for the S&T fund application will vary depending on the size of the business, you can find out more information on the Skills & Training Fund here.
‘A CITB Approved Training Organisation – or ATO – is an organisation which provides construction training courses and qualifications to a defined and industry-agreed training standard.’
We at Barry Training Services are an ATO. This means that we’ve gone through a rigorous approval process, to demonstrate that our systems, processes, and the courses we offer, meet the standards set out by the CITB and the Construction Industry. You can be assured that the training you receive from us at BTS is tried and tested to meet the needs of the Construction Industry.
The courses we offer as an ATO have been mapped against the standards as set out on the CITB website. This means that any eligible course you undertake with us at BTS, will be uploaded to the CITB Construction Training Register (CTR) upon completion, and we will automatically claim your CITB grant on your behalf – taking the burden away from you.
By completing a course with BTS, you can be assured that your grant claims will be automatically applied for. To date, we are one of the largest ATO training providers in the UK, uploading and applying for more grants than other ATOs, often receiving praise and commendation from the CITB and their network for the support and dedication we’ve shown to the system, and the wider industry as a whole.
To be able to make claims, we need your CITB Levy Number, as well as personal information from the individual delegates undertaking the training. This information is then uploaded to the CTR to create a profile of the delegate, logging all the training they undertake. This then in turn will generate a grant payment to your company.
You must book and complete your training with an ATO directly to be able to claim grants. Third party bookings or non ATO providers are not able to claim for you.
Please note that any grant payments come from CITB, and will only be paid to you on the basis that your company information and returns are up to date with CITB. We do not have access to this information.
How much grant can I get back for my training?
The amount the CITB pay will depend on the course you complete, the amounts they pay are;
Tier 1: £60.00
Tier 2: £140.00
Tier 3: £240.00
There are different rates for refresher and plant training. More information on these can be found on the CITB website.
At Barry Training Services, the courses we offer have developed and increased over the years to meet the demands of the industry. We offer a full portfolio of Construction Related Courses, many of which are eligible for CITB Funding.
As a centre, BTS have been approved to deliver IPAF accredited courses since 2014, and currently run open courses at both our Barry and Port Talbot office, as well as on site training if required.
The IPAF courses we can offer include;
We have been delivering the CITB Site Safety Plus suite of courses for over 10 years, and have since become some of the most popular courses we run, with regular open courses scheduled periodically.
We have been a member of PASMA since 2015, and in that time, have developed the PASMA suite of courses on offer, as well as running regular open courses of the PASMA Flagship course; Towers for Users, we now also have the facilities to run Towers for Stairways, Combined Towers and Low Level Access courses as well as site specific training for the additional categories available.
To apply for a CSCS card, delegates need to sit a CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test. We offer all types of available tests at both our Barry and Port Talbot office, offering tests daily, Monday to Friday.
For more information on applying for a CSCS card, or the CITB HS&E tests available, please click here.
As a training centre, we offer a full range of NPORS Accredited Training. Some courses we can run at our centres and other courses are only run on site. To find out more please contact us.
Categories available are;
Report of Thorough Examination
Rough Terrain Masted Lift Truck
Telescopic Materials Handler – Suspended Loads
Excavation Marshall – Banksperson
We offer a huge list of additional courses that are suitable for the construction industry, including;
Fire Awareness / Warden / Marshall
IOSH Working Safely
IOSH Managing Safely
IOSH Safety, Health & Environment for Construction
First Aid at Work
Looking to apply for a CSCS card? We’ve got you covered.
To apply for a CSCS card, delegates must sit and pass a CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test (HS&E test), the test type you sit will depend on the type of card you are applying for, and the qualifications you hold. You can only apply for a card if you meet the standards that are set out on the CSCS website. Each card on the CSCS website will list the qualifications needed in order to apply.
We offer the HS&E test daily, Monday to Friday, at both our Barry and Port Talbot office, and can deliver all levels of the HS&E test.
We also offer the 1 day CITB Health & Safety Awareness course, which delegates can use as their qualification to be able to apply for the Green Labourer Card. Click here to be taken to the Health & Safety Awareness course page.
We can also offer a card application service, which means you can complete the whole process with us; course, test and card. We charge a small administration fee on top of the CSCS card fee to do this. To find out more, please contact us.
We have a dedicated section of our website that explains all things CSCS related, how to apply and the test types available. Click here to be re-directed.
Already got a card? Did you know there is a CSCS app that you can download to have a virtual card, you can access the app here.
There are a lot of different companies who have created their own revision materials for the HS&E tests, please only use CITB approved revision materials, as these are the only official up to date ones that are available, CITB have a range of options to access their revision materials, with an app, DVDs and books available. Click here to access the revision section of the CITB website.
Useful Information
The CITB Website has a qualifcation checking system, which can be used to check CITB HS&E tests, Site Safety Plus qualifications and any other training course completed that is registered on the CITB system. Click here to access the CITB Certificate checking system.
If you want to check which type of CSCS card you can apply for, you can do so on the CSCS website, you can search by card type, qualification or occupation. Click here to access the CITB card checker.
Want to verify a certificate from another awarding body? A lot of accreditations have the options to search on their website to verify the validity of a certificate, click on the relevant awarding body below to be directed to their website;
Useful Links & Downloads
Course Dates
We have an online diary that we try to keep as updated as possible with our open courses, due to the fast changing pace at which we work, we quite often can fit in, add and swap bookings around to accommodate courses, so not everything is always listed. It is always best to contact us for the most up to date availability on any training you may want to complete. You can access the online diary to see the current lists of courses by clicking here.
CITB Company Registration
If you are a construction company looking to register with CITB to access the funding available, you can find out more information on the CITB website; www.citb.co.uk
From here, you can also look through the useful links and information they have on the funding available.
If you are already a CITB levy registered company and want to find out more information on the specific funding routes available to you, in the first instance you should contact your local CITB advisor, details of which can be found here.They can help you discuss the best funding options based on your specific needs.
Feedback & Testimonials
We put a lot into the delivery of our courses, and want to do all we can to ensure delegates not only learn the importance of safety, but also enjoy the courses they attend with us, below you’ll see just a small snapshot of some of the feedback and audit outcomes we’ve received;
CITB Auditor;
‘The information and knowledge imparted by the instructor was done so in a clear and precise manner. Again, at every stage, he sought answers and clarifications from delegates to help keep them engaged and (hopefully) feeling like they are involved in the training rather than being ‘done to’.
I observe many courses and many times I see trainers almost ignore the fact that this course is about the delegates role and responsibilities as a supervisor. Many focus purely on the regulations. It was good to see how many times the instructor kept coming back to the fact that this is about their role, how they must operate and what their responsibilities are as supervisors.’
‘I was particularly struck with the way in which the instructor constantly referred delegates back to their responsibilities as supervisors, something I don’t always see with this course (surprisingly!). He also used the delegates own circumstances often, which always has the positive effect of keeping delegates engaged and interested in the mass of information being delivered.’
Course Participant
‘The instructor was excellent, very clear, very knowledgeable and experienced all round, did a very good job and I learned a lot from him and his experience’
Course Participant
‘I have done a lot of training over the past 40 years, this is by far one of the most enjoyable courses. The instructor made the course highly enjoyable, and was thorough in explaining everything in detail every step of the way. I will highly recommend Barry Training Services, the instructor and Sean within Hinkley Point C, Thank you BTS, 5 start service!’
Housing Association
‘We have been partnering with Barry Training Services for many years now and have built up a great working relationship with them. We have always found them to be very professional, knowledgeable, courteous, and extremely flexible in assisting us with our training needs at Tai Calon.
Their response to us is always prompt and they will often offer solutions to ensure we have good value for money when planning training, e.g. delivering sessions to specific cohort sizes for us, both in house and at their site, or also accommodating different learning styles for our employees.’
Training Location
We deliver a range of the courses listed above at both of our offices, Barry & Baglan, Port Talbot. We are also able to deliver the training at customers’ sites & have travelled around the United Kingdom to deliver this training.
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Booking
If you would like to book a place on one of the above courses and you meet the required criteria you can Contact Us through the number at the top of the page, or fill in the enquiry form below (please state the course you require in the message).