The UK Government has announced a new round of free money to help businesses who are currently involved in customs work or will be after Brexit.

The money is available as free grants towards both training costs and IT costs.   All types and sizes of companies can apply regardless of industry or sector.   £16 million has been set aside for this project which is not dependent on Brexit so what are you waiting for?

Training

The grants are for companies involved in completing customs entries, or undertaking any export, import and customs processes that result in a customs entry of some kind being done by a third party.  Post Brexit all international goods movements will be exports and imports so it is critical for companies to have a good understanding of how to design a supply chain for success and prevent hold ups related to mistakes in customs work.

The grant is for up to 100% of the training cost up to £2,250 per delegate per course for external training and up to £250 per delegate for internal training.  There is no limit on the number of courses per delegate. 
For internal training the funding can be used to cover the cost of delivering the training, such as related stationery, room hire and catering.

If the training will be delivered by an in-house trainer the funding can also be used to cover the (reasonable) day rate of the trainer.

CILT has two accredited professional courses each resulting in a qualification which qualifies for the free funding – the Certificate of Customs Competency and the AEO Certified Practitioner.  These courses which focus on the practical rather than the theoretical and are presented by experienced industry practitioners.  The face-to-face training offers delegates the benefit of being able to ask questions about real-life situations they have encountered and to receive immediate answers with practical solutions.

The courses have also been written with industry in mind, in that they don’t waste time and focus clearly on the who, the what and the how - getting delegates up to the required standard in less than half the time needed for equivalent on-line courses.

The Assessments are taken as part of the course and are multichoice in style – a test of factual knowledge rather than writing skills.

These established, industry leading courses were already much in demand but now the government will pay your course fees so delegates gain scarce skills that are much in demand for the price of travelling expenses.    

The grants are available until either the money runs out or the 30th January 2020.   Companies or individuals should apply for the grant, receive a grant authorisation and then book and pay for the training.    The training invoice should then be presented and the government will pay out the grant.    

Companies should note that places on the courses are filling quickly so action should be taken immediately to avoid disappointment.

IT grants

These are only available to companies that:

• currently complete customs declarations for importers and exporters
• have 250 employees or fewer
• have an annual turnover of less than €50 million

Companies must use the funding to buy software that will help their business to complete customs declarations more efficiently.

It must be a ready-made solution, the funding cannot be used to commission bespoke software.

Companies can also use the funding to:

• buy hardware that’s needed for the software to run
• install and configure the software and hardware
• buy the first year licence
• train employees to use the software

The grant will give up to €200,000 (the maximum amount of state aid available).

Use this link to apply for Training and IT grants.