Employers have been urged to act now to save up to £1,000 on NVQ training available under a new government-funded initiative.
More than £3.5m has been earmarked by the Skills Funding Agency to help boost training in those industries key to economic recovery and future growth, including the building products sector.
But Don Glaister, managing director of training provider Serac UK, said employers needed to act fast to take advantage of funding covering up to 50% of the training costs for selected level 3 and 4 NVQs.
"The funding applies to courses starting any time up to the end of July next year, but there is some urgency for employers to sign up now," he added.
"Great savings are there to be had, but there is a limited number of places that will qualify for the matched funding, which means employers need to register their learners now even if the courses don't start until next year."
Serac UK has been selected by ProSkills as a lead training provider for the funding scheme, called the Joint Investment Programme (JIP). The company, which is ProSkills Academy accredited and is ProSkills Training Provider of the Year, provides training and assessment for a wide range of NVQ qualifications including health and safety, processing and management.