Training to kick-start the careers of under-represented groups and a programme to use drones to reduce health and safety risks in roofing are among the projects to be supported by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) in its latest round of Flexible and Structured funding.

A total of 15 industry-led projects have been successful in this latest round, representing a total investment of just over £5 million.

Just under half a million pounds has been committed to a project led by Mitie Property Services to train and support 60 adults in Scotland and England with high-functioning autism or similar disabilities, who want to work in construction. The funds will be used to expand an existing project, which developed a bespoke training and work experience programme for a young autistic man who contacted Mitie seeking his first job in the industry.

Mitie will work in partnership with the National Autistic Society, Remploy, Geason Training and three other CITB-registered construction companies - ASC Scaffolding, Graham Roofing and RL Scaffolding to deliver the programme.

Liverpool-based roofers Lacy Roofing will receive £15,000 in funding over 12 months to train five members of staff to fly drones to the Civil Aviation Authority standard. Robots for Roofing is the first project of its kind to receive CITB funding and has the potential to drastically reduce the risks to workers’ health and safety on site. Roofers will be trained to use drones to carry out surveys and find faults, rather than getting up on the roof itself to carry out these tasks. If the pilot project is successful, it could be rolled out across the industry.

The purpose of this is to negate the need for staff to work at extreme height whilst carrying out fault finding and surveys of roof works. This area of working at heights is a high risk and we look to reduce staff working at height, thereby negate the risk apportioned to them.

CITB has also approved a bid by Kier for just under £210,000 over 18 months to promote the construction sector to career changers and under-represented groups. The project is a collaborative partnership between Kier, Midas Construction and ISG and their supply chains, in direct response to the construction employment challenges in the South West, which faces existing skills shortages and significant projects planned or underway. The project will be supported by the South Devon College, Plymouth Construction Employers Group and South West Women in Construction.

CECA will receive £1.1m over three years for a new Infrastructure Development Programme. The funding will be used to develop a framework that will cover specialist knowledge and competencies required by middle managers in the UK infrastructure sector. Once developed, the framework can be rolled out consistently across the UK for all future training. It’s estimated that at least 7,000 individuals will be trained under the new framework over the course of the three year funding window.

This is the second funding announcement since the inception of CITB’s reformed project funding process last autumn. Together with the first window, CITB has committed to supporting 36 projects with a total value of over £12 million.

The projects will run in various locations throughout Great Britain. Four are to be led by federations, the remaining nine by employers.

Ian Hughes, Strategic Partnerships Director at CITB Scotland, said: “I am very pleased to announce the latest round of industry-led projects that will receive support from CITB. These high-calibre applicants have the potential to transform the industry and change the lives of many individuals, and we are pleased to be supporting them with industry investment.

“It’s inspiring to think of the impact these projects may have not only in the near future but also in years to come.”

To see the full list of successful bids for this round, click here.