Country-Specific Schemes & Bodies
The schemes, trade bodies, training routes and support programmes that only exist in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Nest, Rent Smart Wales, SELECT, SNIPEF, CITB NI, CEF and more.
9 guides in this section
Nest and Warm Homes: Welsh Energy Efficiency Schemes Explained
Separate pots like the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) for social housing, still focused on affordable warmth and decarbonisation.
Rent Smart Wales: What Tradespeople Need to Know
Rent Smart Wales is mandatory for Welsh landlords. What tradespeople working on rentals must check before starting, and what goes wrong if they don't.
Welsh Government Apprenticeships and Training Funding
Medr, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, is the funder and regulator for Welsh apprenticeships.
SELECT and SNIPEF Scotland: What They Do and Whether to Join
If you're working north of the border, these are the names Scottish clients, councils and building standards recognise when they want to know you're serious.
Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Apprenticeships
There are 70+ Modern Apprenticeship Frameworks, including multiple construction frameworks — construction operations, craft trades, professional routes.
Revenue Scotland and LBTT: What It Means for Construction
LBTT is Scotland's version of stamp duty, and it bites every time you or your company buy land or buildings north of the border.
CITB NI: How It Differs From CITB GB
CITB Northern Ireland runs differently from CITB GB — different levy, different grants, different card rules. What changes when you work across the border.
Construction Employers Federation (CEF): NI Industry Body
Northern Ireland's main construction trade body. What CEF does, whether membership is worth it, and how it differs from FMB and GB trade bodies.
Go For It and NI Business Startup Support for Trades
Used properly, NI startup schemes give you more free mentoring and hand-holding than you'd get starting the same business in England.