You may have heard the announcement last month by the Chancellor introducing incentives for employers recruiting apprentices, but did you know that it could apply to you?

The new incentives are aimed at ALL companies regardless of size and are available from August 2020 until January 2021.

If you are an SME then you must have signed up to reserve the apprenticeship funding via the government website (a new scheme that came into force at the start of August) which B&FC can help you with.

The incentives only applies to new apprentices who are new to your business. You must be able to prove that the new apprentice has not worked for your organisation for at least 6 months prior to starting the course and cannot be used for current staff moving into a new area within the business.

Payments are made to the organisation directly in 2 instalments where the apprentice is still in learning and still employed - 1st payment at 90 days and the 2nd at 365 days.

The incentive payments are:

£2000 for any apprentice aged 16-18 (this is on top of the £1000 incentive payment companies with fewer than 50 staff are already eligible to receive)

£2000 for any apprentice aged 18-24 

£1500 for any apprentice aged 25 and over

The incentive payments are for all industries and for all apprenticeships including degree apprenticeships. Why not contact your local college to find out more.