Speller Metcalfe appointed for £28m Atherstone leisure centre redevelopment
North Warwickshire Borough Council has appointed construction firm Speller Metcalfe as the principal contractor for a £28 million redevelopment of the leisure centre in Atherstone.
The project will see the existing Memorial Hall leisure centre demolished and replaced with a new, modern facility designed to serve the local community.
Speller Metcalfe is expected to take possession of the current site at the end of April to begin preparations for demolition and the subsequent reconstruction phase.
The contractor’s appointment follows the submission of a planning application for the new leisure centre at the end of February. The redevelopment forms part of North Warwickshire Borough Council’s plans to modernise local leisure infrastructure and improve access to sport and wellbeing facilities.
Plans for the new centre include updated sports and leisure amenities, improved accessibility, and an energy-efficient building design aimed at reducing long-term operational costs.
Mark Hudgeon, divisional director at Speller Metcalfe, said the company was pleased to be delivering the project for the local authority.
“This is an exciting project for Atherstone and the wider community,” he said. “We’re proud to be working with North Warwickshire Borough Council to deliver a modern leisure facility that will support health, wellbeing and community activity for years to come.”
Work on the redevelopment is expected to begin later this year following site preparation and demolition of the existing building.
Second chances and scaffolding: the man giving ex-offenders a route back into work
When Aaron King talks about turning points, he does not hesitate.
“It was when my kids had to come and see me in prison,” he says. “Watching them upset, then going back to my cell, not able to do anything about it.”
When he walked out, he left with little more than the clothes he was wearing. No structure. No roadmap. No safety net.
That absence of direction shaped what would follow.
“There’s nothing more valuable than real-world life experience,” he explains. “When you leave prison, you’re left to fend for yourself. There isn’t much extended rehabilitation. That teaches you to look out for yourself, but also to think about others in that same position.”
More than 25 years after first entering the scaffolding trade, King now runs AK Scaffolding, a Manchester-based agency that has grown from a single gang of five scaffolders to a workforce that fluctuates between 20 and 100, depending on contract demand. The business currently operates across the north west, with ambitions to expand nationally and overseas.
But AK Scaffolding was not built purely as a commercial venture.
Still, the model comes with its share of volatility. “The hardest times are the lulls in work,” he admits. “When I’ve had to let good lads go. Then the work comes back and there’s no way to get them back. That affects me. A lot of the lads are good friends. The business is at the mercy of the market. You just have to ride the waves.”
Since then, AK has competed internationally, including at the Scaffold Builders Competition in Las Vegas. The commercial return so far has been indirect. “There’s been no direct financial benefit yet, but doors have opened. It was about reputation and pride. As a small Manchester agency, representing the UK and Europe was a privilege.”
International competition reinforced one belief. “The reputation UK scaffolders have for health and safety is at the pinnacle,” he says. “It can make us slower at times, but I won’t jeopardise standards for speed. We practise until we can compete at that level without lowering our standards.”
His ambition for ScaffChamp 2026 is clear. “To bring more focus onto the competition and the trade, and to end the stigma scaffolders receive. Representing the UK is a huge privilege. I want to do us proud and bring some silverware home.”
A business built on correction
“When I started AK, I wanted to fix what I saw as the problem with agencies,” King says. “They weren’t looking after scaffolders or clients properly. There wasn’t consistency. There weren’t long-term relationships.” His model is deliberately lean. With no large overheads, he pays scaffolders strong rates while keeping clients competitive and still protecting margin. “I’m not chasing big profits,” he says. “I focus on quality over quantity. I look after the clients, and they look after me and the lads. That’s why they come back.”Unlike many agency owners, King remains on the tools, and he does not always announce it. “Most of the time they don’t even realise they’re working alongside the owner,” he says. “It builds confidence with clients. And it keeps costs down because I earn my own wages.” Every scaffolder working under the AK brand receives company clothing, a small but deliberate move to build identity and loyalty in what can often be a fragmented labour market.“When you leave prison, you’re left to fend for yourself.”
Still, the model comes with its share of volatility. “The hardest times are the lulls in work,” he admits. “When I’ve had to let good lads go. Then the work comes back and there’s no way to get them back. That affects me. A lot of the lads are good friends. The business is at the mercy of the market. You just have to ride the waves.”
Speaking openly about mental health
King’s willingness to speak publicly about mental health has also become part of AK’s identity. After two attempts on his own life, he made a conscious decision to be open. “Mental health is talked about a lot now, but only recently has there been real focus on men being open about it,” he says. “If speaking publicly gives even one person the confidence to reach out, that’s enough for me.” He believes scaffolding has work to do. “It’s an industry where many of us struggle. It also has one of the highest suicide rates. There needs to be more focus and less stigma.”Within AK Scaffolding, that translates into practical support. Regular site visits. A charge hand or foreman is always accessible. A group chat is described as a safe space for scaffolders to ask questions or raise concerns without judgment. It is not corporate policy language. It is direct and personal.“If speaking publicly gives even one person the confidence to reach out, that’s enough for me.”
Second chances
King has helped 12 ex-offenders into training and employment. Five remain with the business today. There have been obstacles. “There are companies that won’t work with AK because I employ ex-offenders. That’s their right. PPQs can be strict. Some companies are willing to work with us, but don’t want to publicise it.” He does not resent that. “All I have to go off is my own background and how far I’ve come,” he says. “They deserve that chance too. What I’ve found is many of the ex-offenders I’ve helped have become some of my best workers. Often the black sheep becomes the goat.” For King, it is not a branding exercise. It is personal alignment between experience and opportunity.Representing the UK on the world stage
AK Scaffolding’s entry into ScaffChamp powered by Layher in Lithuania in 2025 was not originally planned. “Our name was put forward by people like Isaac Morrison from Vertex,” King says. “He’s a childhood friend. It wasn’t even on my radar until others pushed it. That made me realise people believed in what we were doing.”
Since then, AK has competed internationally, including at the Scaffold Builders Competition in Las Vegas. The commercial return so far has been indirect. “There’s been no direct financial benefit yet, but doors have opened. It was about reputation and pride. As a small Manchester agency, representing the UK and Europe was a privilege.”
International competition reinforced one belief. “The reputation UK scaffolders have for health and safety is at the pinnacle,” he says. “It can make us slower at times, but I won’t jeopardise standards for speed. We practise until we can compete at that level without lowering our standards.”
His ambition for ScaffChamp 2026 is clear. “To bring more focus onto the competition and the trade, and to end the stigma scaffolders receive. Representing the UK is a huge privilege. I want to do us proud and bring some silverware home.”
Looking forward
Ask King where AK Scaffolding should stand in five years, and the answer is direct. “I want it to be known as the best. The most hardworking. The most reliable. The most sought after.” The words are simple, but they carry weight when placed against the journey that precedes them. From prison visits with his children to international competition stages, Aaron King’s story is not just about redemption. It is about responsibility. Responsibility to his workforce. To ex-offenders seeking a route back. To raise mental health awareness in a trade that rarely pauses to talk. AK Scaffolding may still be growing, but its identity is already defined. Not by what came before, but by what comes next.Scaffold supplier TRAD UK flags potential price adjustments as global tensions rise
TRAD UK has warned customers that external market pressures linked to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East could lead to price adjustments in the coming weeks.
In a notice shared with customers, the scaffold equipment supplier said uncertainty in global markets is affecting energy, transportation and raw material pricing.
The company said it remains committed to protecting clients from unnecessary increases but acknowledged that wider economic pressures may make some changes unavoidable.
TRAD UK said stock levels across its network currently remain at normal levels. However, it encouraged customers to consider replenishing key items ahead of time to help avoid potential supply disruptions or cost impacts.
The company said the advice is intended to help contractors manage uncertainty as global conditions continue to shift. Scaffold equipment distribution relies heavily on transport and energy costs, both of which have seen volatility in recent weeks amid escalating geopolitical tensions. TRAD UK said customers seeking further information should contact their local depot.As a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, there is uncertainty and extraordinary conditions in the global marketplace, which, as you will see in the media, is affecting energy, transportation, and raw material pricing. ?? pic.twitter.com/Uy9kIjhnKU
— TRAD UK (@Trad_UK1) March 13, 2026
Don’t rely on digital tools to solve your problems – a strong management approach is critical
Scaffolding contractors have a lot on their plates. There is technical and legislative compliance to meet on every job, while also running and growing the business. This adds up to a huge amount of extra admin – and the obvious answer is to adopt new technologies to manage the workload.
This sounds great, but it won’t solve all your problems if your general approach to training and management is poor. While the right technology will certainly strengthen your approach, you need strong, hands-on experienced management skills to drive success.
People, technology and training
My time in scaffolding started on the tools, and I understand the importance of on-the-job experience, in good supervisor training and development. In my view, this is where strong management and a cultural commitment is critical to commercial success. At the moment, there’s a clear gap between the ‘technical compliance’ that gets people through their training, and ‘real compliance’ which is about what actually happens on site. Wherever I go, I hear complaints about the ‘quality’ of newly qualified scaffolders. This has led me to think about the way scaffolder training is perceived by the industry. The current ‘pass’ for scaffolder certification doesn’t tell employers anything about how good the scaffolder in, or how much experience they have. Digital tools can’t help here. Instead, managers and supervisors need to assess the skills of each scaffolder, and have a system in place where teams include both newly qualified and experienced scaffolders, so that there is a positive environment where people can learn safely on the job.Managing the pressure of compliance
RAMS are typically 30-50 pages long. Every scaffolder is supposed to read the RAMS before work starts, but do they? Not in my experience! So how do we ensure that projects are compliant? You can certainly use technology to template your RAMS documents. And you can use it to help with distribution, tracking, and accessibility, but it can’t replace genuine engagement, understanding, and accountability on site. But while digital systems can manage the admin, you can’t achieve real compliance by simply making documents available. You need systems, behaviours, and leadership to make sure that the right information is actually absorbed and applied. I’ve seen a couple of approaches in the past that work well. One is to include concise task briefings – such as a single sheet at the start of the RAMS – so scaffolders can quickly understand the critical hazards, risks, and control measures before starting work. Steve Kearney at the NASC, who was my Health and Safety Director at TRAD, created a site-specific, six-page pictorial RAMS supported by TRAD’s full operational manual, which remained available on site for reference. Both approaches keep the essential information front-and-centre without overwhelming teams with unnecessary paperwork. And, most importantly, it allows teams to get on with the work safely. We have similar issues, in my opinion, with ISO and other standards. Businesses work hard to gain certification, but often, processes and procedures then become diluted or forgotten about until recertification comes round. That’s a waste of time and money, and also leaves the business open to risks, complaints and the consequences of non-compliance. Businesses need systems that genuinely add value and, once implemented, are consistently followed. At TRAD Group, we developed a bespoke ISO management system, certified by BSI, and aligned with our existing management framework. This allowed us to get rid of additional paperwork and drive continuous improvement across the group. Digital tools can support this by monitoring processes, tracking performance, and providing real-time insights. However, these tools are only effective when built on a strong framework and supported by genuine management commitment.Does technology improve communication?
Communication is another area where digital systems are both beneficial and detrimental. I have visited companies where all communication is done over email or WhatsApp – no face-to-face conversations or even telephone calls. This is an area where technology can actually make thing less efficient, in my experience. Emails going backwards and forwards, with people copied in who don’t really need to be involved, can take a long time to reach a resolution. Picking up the phone can get the job done in a few minutes – and also has the benefit of building relationships. The same goes for face-to-face meetings. They are, in my opinion, critical to team building and professional relationships. Don’t just rely on technology for your communications – you’ll be surprised at how much more you achieve doing things ‘the old-fashioned way’.Invest in training as well as technology
Technology can be extremely helpful in training and development, where well-designed, tailored platforms can support a training plan. But that’s the key – a business must have a proper training programme in place and an environment that supports it. If you don’t, you’ll find that you’ve invested a lot of time and money in someone’s training, and then they’ll go to someone else’s company to make more of those skills – you lose out. And let’s look at training for managers. At the moment, there’s no specific training programme for managers in the scaffolding industry beyond the CISRS gold manager/supervisor 5-day course. I believe the NASC is driving changes in CISRS, and I’m looking forward to seeing improvements to the current system. I also welcome NASC/CISRS seeking employer and workforce feedback through perception surveys. One of the difficulties is that businesses often can’t see the direct results of training managers. With scaffolders, there’s a ‘train to gain’ mentality, which is great – you pay for the training, and you can see exactly the contribution to the business. That doesn’t work with managers, where measurement is much more intangible, and companies can’t always see the long-term value of investing in training – even though those benefits are clearly there. To summarise: technology brings huge benefits to your business, but don’t rely on it to solve all your problems. That only happens when it’s part of a solid, committed management approach. This article was originally published in Issue 29 of the ScaffMag magazine.The digital foundations behind scaffolding’s next tech shift
NASC and CISRS have completed a comprehensive digital overhaul that marks a fundamental shift in how the scaffolding sector manages training, compliance and communication.
Since January, both organisations have been operating on a single, unified digital infrastructure. The new platform replaces years of disconnected systems with an integrated environment covering membership administration, CISRS training records, card issuance, compliance tools, and sector-wide communication.
The change represents more than a technical upgrade. It establishes the digital foundations required for the scaffolding industry to operate in an increasingly data-driven construction sector—and opens the door to technologies that were previously impractical.
While construction marketing talks endlessly about artificial intelligence, NASC and CISRS have focused on something more fundamental: building the reliable data infrastructure that makes advanced technology viable in the first place.
The result is a platform designed not just for today’s needs, but as the foundation for whatever digital requirements emerge next.
The stakes were higher than just protecting systems. “We would be more open to cyberattacks, but we also risked becoming an irrelevance in the future,” he adds. “The world is moving faster all the time and the need for information in a world of AI has never been so critical.”
The technical delivery has been led by NASC technical manager Mark Collinson. He describes the previous landscape not as broken, but as inefficient. “It’s not that we didn’t have systems in place, it was the manual steps in between those systems that were time-consuming and frustrating, a download here or an upload there,” Collinson explains. “And every one of these manual steps was an opportunity for error.”
As NASC and CISRS grew, those inefficiencies multiplied. The larger the organisations became, the more time-consuming the manual steps and the greater the opportunities for error.
The new platform establishes what Collinson describes as a “single source of truth”—CISRS card details, NASC membership status, ePortal subscriptions and CPD records stored centrally with no conflicts between datasets. That consistency is not just administrative. It is what enables more advanced technology to work reliably.
At a practical level, they address familiar site issues, forgotten cards, damaged plastic, delays when training records change.
“People rarely forget their phones in the modern world, and it is a lot more difficult to counterfeit digital cards,” says Collinson. Physical cards are susceptible to damage and can quickly become illegible; five years in a scaffolder’s pocket is tough on plastic. Digital cards also benefit from device-level security such as biometrics, with updates made instantaneously when qualifications change.
More broadly, digital cards represent a move towards verified digital identity on site. Training, competence and access are linked in real time rather than relying on static checks. That alignment brings scaffolding closer to verification systems already common elsewhere in construction.
Artificial intelligence features heavily in construction marketing. Dickin is cautious about the rhetoric. “AI can be hyped, we’ve all heard the Terminator-style rhetoric, Sarah Connor should be worried and so on,” he says. “But AI is about accessibility.”
The real opportunity, he argues, lies in helping people find the right information at the right time, a trainee locating guidance within TG20 or TG30, a yard worker checking a critical safety note such as SG30 on a phone, a client asking better questions about risk. That requires structured, searchable data. Without it, AI is little more than a novelty.
Why now?
The decision to invest was not sudden. According to Clive Dickin, Group CEO of NASC and CISRS, the choice was made more than two years ago, “based on the recognition that younger scaffolders and business owners will work differently.” NASC had learned a great deal through the growth of its ePortal, but inefficiencies had built up as systems developed organically. Multiple platforms meant duplication, manual workarounds and avoidable errors. That was not sustainable internally, and it was not helping users. Cybersecurity was not the only driver, but it was a decisive one. “With NASC issuing over 13,000 compliance sheets a month that are instrumental in scaffolding contracts… imagine the impact a ransomware situation, like the one that hit JLR, could have on NASC and the sector,” says Dickin. “That’s why two-factor authentication is critical and one of the benefits we see in this significant move.”
The stakes were higher than just protecting systems. “We would be more open to cyberattacks, but we also risked becoming an irrelevance in the future,” he adds. “The world is moving faster all the time and the need for information in a world of AI has never been so critical.”
The technical delivery has been led by NASC technical manager Mark Collinson. He describes the previous landscape not as broken, but as inefficient. “It’s not that we didn’t have systems in place, it was the manual steps in between those systems that were time-consuming and frustrating, a download here or an upload there,” Collinson explains. “And every one of these manual steps was an opportunity for error.”
As NASC and CISRS grew, those inefficiencies multiplied. The larger the organisations became, the more time-consuming the manual steps and the greater the opportunities for error.
The new platform establishes what Collinson describes as a “single source of truth”—CISRS card details, NASC membership status, ePortal subscriptions and CPD records stored centrally with no conflicts between datasets. That consistency is not just administrative. It is what enables more advanced technology to work reliably.
Digital identity on site
One of the most visible changes now rolling out is the introduction of digital CISRS cards via ScaffPal.
At a practical level, they address familiar site issues, forgotten cards, damaged plastic, delays when training records change.
“People rarely forget their phones in the modern world, and it is a lot more difficult to counterfeit digital cards,” says Collinson. Physical cards are susceptible to damage and can quickly become illegible; five years in a scaffolder’s pocket is tough on plastic. Digital cards also benefit from device-level security such as biometrics, with updates made instantaneously when qualifications change.
More broadly, digital cards represent a move towards verified digital identity on site. Training, competence and access are linked in real time rather than relying on static checks. That alignment brings scaffolding closer to verification systems already common elsewhere in construction.
Artificial intelligence features heavily in construction marketing. Dickin is cautious about the rhetoric. “AI can be hyped, we’ve all heard the Terminator-style rhetoric, Sarah Connor should be worried and so on,” he says. “But AI is about accessibility.”
The real opportunity, he argues, lies in helping people find the right information at the right time, a trainee locating guidance within TG20 or TG30, a yard worker checking a critical safety note such as SG30 on a phone, a client asking better questions about risk. That requires structured, searchable data. Without it, AI is little more than a novelty.
Dickin confirms that NASC is already exploring practical AI use cases built on the new platform, aimed at reducing risk and improving safety across the sector. Another shift enabled by the new system is conditional content. Rather than broadcasting identical updates to everyone, information is now tailored based on role and profile. That approach mirrors how people already consume information elsewhere, from news feeds to online services. For Collinson, the significance lies in speed. “We have relied on NASC member companies, CISRS training centres, emails or newsletters to cascade updates out to the industry in the past,” he says. “This has meant that the updates are slow to reach the frontline scaffolders and they may not even reach some.” With a connected platform and app-based delivery, urgent updates can now reach users directly. Later this year, ScaffAcademy is expected to launch as a learning management system linked directly to CISRS records. Its immediate value is administrative efficiency. Its longer-term value lies in insight. Once training, competence and engagement data are connected, patterns become visible—skills gaps, renewal cycles, emerging risks. These are the areas where AI becomes useful, but only once the underlying systems exist. This digital overhaul does not change what scaffolding is. It changes how information flows around it. There has been an adjustment period, new logins, new layouts, new habits. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, people like the fresh look and feel of the new website,” says Collinson. It will take time for users to adjust to the new navigation, he acknowledges, but support is available. Both Dickin and Collinson stress that this is a starting point rather than an endpoint. As Collinson puts it: “It doesn’t stop here though, this is only the beginning.” For an industry often described as slow to modernise digitally, the more important story may be that scaffolding is now building the foundations required for whatever comes next. This article was originally published in Issue 29 of the ScaffMag magazine.“The world is moving faster all the time and the need for information in a world of AI has never been so critical”
Layher system scaffold supports Prestwich Travel Hub regeneration project
Rose System Scaffolding has completed the scaffolding package for the Prestwich Travel Hub, the first phase of a £100m+ regeneration of Prestwich Village in Greater Manchester, working alongside main contractor VINCI Building.
The scheme, a joint venture between Bury Council and placemaker Muse trading as Prestwich Regeneration LLP, will deliver a new village square, market hall, community hub, flexible retail and leisure spaces, landscaped green areas and around 200 new homes.
Shaped by two rounds of extensive community consultation, the masterplan is designed to cement Prestwich as one of the best places to live and spend time in the North West. The new Travel Hub, improving parking and connectivity at the heart of the village, forms the opening phase of that wider vision.
Rose was appointed to deliver access scaffolding and edge protection to the Travel Hub’s steel-framed, brick-finish structure.
The scaffold runs 150 metres in length and 8 metres in height across the external façade, with works running from September 2025 through to June 2026. The installation was managed on site by Foreman Ash Thorley, with a four-strong team that included two apprentices.
Layher’s renowned multi-directional connector rosette allowed components to be positioned to suit the building’s geometry, enabling Rose to meet the technical requirements of the build while keeping the site safe and accessible. On a project where the building’s form and the constraints of the surrounding environment had to be managed simultaneously, that adaptability was central to delivering the right solution.
BIM modelling was used throughout the planning phase, with accurate 3D setting-out plans developed and shared with VINCI Building and local stakeholders well ahead of works starting on site. The tight boundary conditions, proximity to a live car park, and the need to maintain the church fire escape were all identified and resolved digitally before a single standard went on site, reducing risk and keeping the project on programme.
Protec panels were installed across the car park area for additional public protection. All works were carried out in full compliance with NASC guidance including SG4.
This collaborative approach reflects Layher’s 4×S philosophy, built around Service, Support, Solutions and Supply, which underpinned the project from planning through to delivery.
This article was originally published in Issue 29 of the ScaffMag magazine.
Layher Allround specified throughout
The Layher Allround System was selected for the project. As a dedicated Layher contractor, Rose worked with the system across the full installation, with its adaptability proving important on a build with a number of complex geometric requirements. These included a splayed independent scaffold to a curved section of the building, bespoke setting out around an existing boundary wall, and a covered pedestrian walkway to maintain live access to a neighbouring church’s fire escape throughout the works. The site also bordered a live car park, requiring public safety and access to be carefully managed for the full duration.
Layher’s renowned multi-directional connector rosette allowed components to be positioned to suit the building’s geometry, enabling Rose to meet the technical requirements of the build while keeping the site safe and accessible. On a project where the building’s form and the constraints of the surrounding environment had to be managed simultaneously, that adaptability was central to delivering the right solution.
Early involvement and collaborative planning
Rose’s in-house technical department, headed by James Harrison, widely recognised as the UK’s first dedicated scaffolding digital technician, prepared initial design concepts using Scaffplan. These were reviewed and agreed with VINCI Building and key stakeholders before the main design was completed by Raptor Scaffold Design, ensuring full alignment across the project team ahead of mobilisation.
BIM modelling was used throughout the planning phase, with accurate 3D setting-out plans developed and shared with VINCI Building and local stakeholders well ahead of works starting on site. The tight boundary conditions, proximity to a live car park, and the need to maintain the church fire escape were all identified and resolved digitally before a single standard went on site, reducing risk and keeping the project on programme.
Protec panels were installed across the car park area for additional public protection. All works were carried out in full compliance with NASC guidance including SG4.
This collaborative approach reflects Layher’s 4×S philosophy, built around Service, Support, Solutions and Supply, which underpinned the project from planning through to delivery.
This article was originally published in Issue 29 of the ScaffMag magazine. Sheffield scaffolder to walk 1,200 miles for suicide prevention charity
A scaffolder from Sheffield is set to walk 1,200 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in support of suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club.
Jordan Darby, 39, will begin the challenge on 1 May and aims to complete the journey in around 60 days. He plans to camp most nights and carry his equipment on his back.
The father of four says the challenge marks a major turning point after two decades struggling with alcohol and drug abuse.
In 2021, Darby was jailed for 32 months for attempted arson with intent to endanger life.
He says the time in prison forced him to step away from destructive habits and rethink his future.
“It took me away from the life I was living and gave me time to think,” he said to local media. “When I came out I started travelling and seeing places I’d never been before.”
After his release, Darby began hiking across the Lake District, Scotland and Wales.
The experience, he says, helped him rebuild his mental health and outlook on life.
“You realise things aren’t as bad as you thought,” he said. “There’s more to life than worrying about things that can be sorted if you speak to people.”
Darby hopes his walk will raise funds for Andy’s Man Club, a charity that runs peer-support groups across the UK encouraging men to talk openly about mental health.
“It’s brilliant what they do,” he said. “They help people open up without even realising it. It’s a community that’s helping a lot of people.”
The scaffolder says he hopes the challenge will also encourage others in the construction trades to speak more openly about mental health.
Anyone wishing to support the walk can donate through Darby’s fundraising page.
CITB reshapes training funding with new large employer fund
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has announced changes to how training funding will be distributed to employers from 1 April 2026.
The update introduces a new Large Employer Fund for businesses employing 250 or more people, while Employer Networks will remain the main route for smaller firms to access training support.
CITB said the changes are designed to ensure funding is distributed more sustainably across the industry as demand for training continues to grow.
Why the funding model is changing
The organisation said engagement with training programmes has increased significantly in recent years. Over the past four years, employer participation in initiatives such as Employer Networks has risen by 36 percent, increasing demand for funding support. The reforms also come as the government has pledged more than £600 million to help address skills shortages and train up to 60,000 additional construction workers. Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of CITB, said: “We appreciate that the decisions we have had to make have been disruptive for the industry. “However, the premise for these changes is that we’re engaging more employers and seeing increased demand – we’ve seen a 36% increase in employer engagement. “But we need to balance this with the same amount of Levy. Consequently, the way funding is accessed must change in order for us to support more employers with new entrants and competence training.”Continued support for smaller employers
Employers with between one and 249 employees will continue to access funding through the Employer Networks programme. From April, support will typically be available through 50 percent match funding, with fixed contributions also available for certain health and safety courses. For the 2026–27 financial year, the Employer Networks budget has been set at £11.5 million. Funding caps will apply depending on the size of the employer: Micro employers (1–9 employees): £1,500 Small employers (10–49 employees): £2,000 Medium employers (50–249 employees): £4,500 CITB said the limits are intended to ensure support reaches a wider range of businesses across the sector.New fund for large employers
Companies employing 250 or more staff will no longer be able to access funding through Employer Networks. Instead, they will be able to apply to the new Large Employer Fund, which will be available during the 2026–27 financial year. The fund will provide up to £18,000 per employer to support eligible training activity. Payments will be made once a training plan has been agreed or after evidence of completed training has been submitted. Employers will be able to submit Expressions of Interest between 1 April and 30 June 2026 using a form that will be available on CITB’s website. CITB said the fund will operate as an interim measure while it works with large employers on a longer-term approach to training support.Scaffmag Issue 29 released with focus on technology, skills and industry change
Scaffmag has released Issue 29, bringing together interviews, analysis and project stories from across the scaffolding and access industry.
The new edition for Spring 2026 places a strong focus on the growing role of technology and innovation, examining how digital tools, modern systems and new working methods are beginning to change how scaffolding is designed, managed and delivered on site.
Among the features in the issue is a profile of Aaron King, the founder of AK Scaffolding, whose personal journey from prison to running a successful scaffolding agency highlights the importance of second chances within the industry.
King now employs former offenders and has become an advocate for better mental health awareness in construction.
The issue also explores wider changes affecting the sector, including the adoption of digital scaffold design software, the role of modern management practices, and the continuing challenge of attracting new workers into the trade.
Industry voices featured in the edition share practical insights on how businesses can adapt to increasing regulatory pressure, tighter labour markets and a more technology-driven construction environment.
As with previous editions, the magazine combines industry news, business insight and technical discussion aimed at contractors, suppliers, designers and training providers working across the scaffolding and access sector.
Scaffmag, launched in 2008, has grown into one of the most widely read digital publications dedicated to the scaffolding industry, reaching tens of thousands of readers each month through its website, newsletter and social media channels.
Issue 29 is now available to read online here.
The issue also explores wider changes affecting the sector, including the adoption of digital scaffold design software, the role of modern management practices, and the continuing challenge of attracting new workers into the trade.
Industry voices featured in the edition share practical insights on how businesses can adapt to increasing regulatory pressure, tighter labour markets and a more technology-driven construction environment.
As with previous editions, the magazine combines industry news, business insight and technical discussion aimed at contractors, suppliers, designers and training providers working across the scaffolding and access sector.
Scaffmag, launched in 2008, has grown into one of the most widely read digital publications dedicated to the scaffolding industry, reaching tens of thousands of readers each month through its website, newsletter and social media channels.
Issue 29 is now available to read online here. Young workers least likely to discuss mental health, research shows
More than one in three UK tradespeople say their job is harming their mental health, with young workers among the least likely to seek support, according to new research by Trade Direct Insurance.
The survey found that 34% of tradespeople believe their work is damaging their mental wellbeing. Nearly one in five (19%) say their job is directly causing mental health problems.
The findings point to growing pressure across the skilled trades sector, where around 900,000 people are employed in the UK.
Younger workers appear particularly reluctant to speak openly. One in three (33%) tradespeople aged 18 to 24 said they do not want to talk about their mental health with others, while only a quarter (25%) said they feel comfortable discussing it with family.
A further 15% said they would like to seek help but do not know where to turn.
