Apprenticeships Incentives Extended!

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As you are aware the government have announced an incentive payment of £3000 for any company taking on a new apprentice aged 16-24 between April and 31st January 2022.  This is in addition to the £1000 already on offer for taking on an apprentice who is 16-18.  This will be paid in two instalments one at 90 days and the second at 365 days.

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The deadline for setting this up is 30th November 2021

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There is no limit to the number of apprentices you can hire/claim for as long as the eligibility is met.

The eligibility criteria for the employer incentive payments are:

• The apprentice must be a new employee of the business
• The apprentice must receive a contract of employment starting on or before 31 January 2022
• The apprentice must not have been employed by the business within 6 months prior to the contract start date
• The Employer must have a workforce in England

You can apply for apprentices who: 

• work full or part-time 
• are on zero-hours contracts
• have been made redundant by a previous employer, as long as the previous employer has not received an incentive payment for the same apprentice 

Summary

• Employers will receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age
• Employers must apply for these apprentices by the end of January 2022
• The incentive payment is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice

In order to claim you will need an apprenticeship service account. If you don’t you can set one up here.

The payment will be made in two equal instalments, where the apprentice is still learning at day 90 and day 365. Your payment will take longer if your apprentice takes a break in learning. 

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Additional Funding

The Government offers many incentives to increase the number of apprentices in the UK and the Government will cover up to 95% of the training and assessing for your apprentice (up to the funding band maximum). They will pay this cost directly to the training provider.

You are only required to pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice (if you are under the apprenticeship levy amount). You need to:

• agree a payment schedule with the training provider
• pay them directly for the training

You could be eligible for extra funding depending on both your circumstances and your apprentice’s.

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Looking for a complete guide to understanding employing apprenticeships for your construction firm?

Check out The Employers Apprenticeship Guide [Construction Edition]!