Financial Incentives for Employing Apprentices

Last week the chancellor announced that all businesses hiring apprentices between August 2020 and January 2021 will receive new financial incentives which mean they receive:

• for a 16-18 year old: £3,000

• for a 19-24 year old: £2,000

• for a 25+ year old: £1,500 

Not only is this a fantastic opportunity for you to home-grow your talent, but it also offers a more financially viable route to hiring from the pool of talented young adults now available to help rebuild and grow your business post COVID-19.  An important factor that makes the apprenticeship option even better than before is that labour market conditions mean employers will have a significantly larger pool of candidates to choose from meaning they can select the highest calibre candidates.

It is great to see this unprecedented support coming from the Government, and it couldn’t come at a better time. We have seen the significant and positive impact of apprenticeships on closing skills gaps and getting more people on the right career paths; with 91% of learners staying in work or going on to further training.

Whilst the bonus scheme shouldn’t be a sole motivator for hiring apprentices, it is certainly helping organisations of all sizes to implement apprenticeship programmes without the worry of additional expense the new starters might bring.

 If you missed the Chancellor’s announcement, here are the key highlights:

• Commitment to paying employers to create new apprenticeships over the next 6 months.
• Bonus scheme to run from August 2020 to January 2021.
• Continued payment of the £1,000 Employer Incentive Payment for employers hiring 16 to 18-year olds.
• NEW incentive of £2,000 for employers who hire apprentices aged 16 to 24 years.
• NEW incentive of £1,500 for employers who hire apprentices aged 25 and older.

This scheme will be running for 6 months and will support employers to grow and offer opportunities where they might not have had the option to do so previously.

Do you already have an apprentice on furlough?

For employers who have apprentices who have been furloughed, please don’t forget there is also a £1,000 financial incentive to keep these apprentices in employment until the end of January 2021.

What about the Kickstart scheme?

Keep an eye out for an article on this next week. We’ll be providing an in-depth comparison between the two schemes and the pros and cons of each.

For more information, call Phil Kimber on 023 8000 4209 or get in touch here.