70 per cent grants for passive house training

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Funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the grants are available for a number of courses developed by expert low energy building trainers Coaction, pitched at designers and contractors working on new build and retrofit projects.

The grants are available to CITB-registered businesses, contractors or subcontractors via CITB’s new local Employer Networks.

Welcoming the news, Coaction Training CIC head of training Emma Braun said: “This is a great opportunity for contractors and sub-contractors to upskill their staff at a significantly reduced cost and to learn from Coaction’s community of trainers – who each brings their long-standing experience and expertise within the low energy and passivhaus construction industry.”

Coaction offers four industry leading training courses that meet CITB training criteria and are delivered by experienced professionals working at the forefront of low energy building. The eligible courses are:

• Introductory level: Bitesize Low Energy Design for design teams;
• Intermediate level: Certified Passivhaus Tradesperson for contractor managers;
• Advanced level: Retrofit Delivery (16 PHI credit points) for designers and contractors working on deep retrofit projects;
• Intermediate level: Passivhaus in Practice, for applying passive house theory hands-on to real-world scenarios. (Delivered in-person at BE-ST, Scotland)

Braun said the people who complete the training will come out with a working knowledge of the passive house and Enerphit standards, along with net zero, building performance and building physics skills. “[It will enable] you to confidently deliver quality low energy, resource efficient, healthy buildings across all typologies, in both new build and retrofit,” she said.

CITB’s Employer Networks have been set up to make it easier for employers in the construction industry to access training and funding. “The training can be in anything that supports construction employers,” said Braun. “These could be the trade skills you need right now or something you’ll need in the future and because the Employer Networks help organise it all, you don’t need to complete any paperwork to apply for funding.”

Companies interested in accessing this opportunity should contact their local CITB advisors and name Coaction Training CIC as their preferred training provider, along with the training course titles, dates and the names of any employees being put forward.

According to Braun, the news has relevance not only to companies who pay the CITB levy. “If you’re not a CIS levy payer but your sub-contractors are, please pass this information on,” said Braun. “By working together, we can upskill the entire industry.”

For further information visit www.coaction.org.uk/blog/2024/CITBfunding or for an informal chat about the funded courses contact the training team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who are eager to support as many people as possible in accessing this opportunity.

With over 12 years of experience in delivering quality passive house training (previously under the CarbonLite banner), Coaction Training CIC was launched in 2022, as an independent and not-for-profit organisation driving upskilling for low energy building in the construction industry.