[31.01.22]

8^th – 14^th February marks the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week.  This is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England.

There are clear benefits to a business if they appoint the right individual as an Apprentice.  It can be a productive and effective way to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.  The Government quotes that:

• 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
• 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
• 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service

Here we set out how an Apprentice is funded, where the employer’s wage bill is no more than £3million.

You will pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your Apprentice. You need to:

• agree a payment schedule with the training provider
• pay them directly for the training
• The Government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum. They’ll pay it directly to the training provider.

If your Apprentice started before 1^st April 2019, you contribute 10% towards the cost of training and assessing your Apprentice and the Government pays the rest (90%). This rate continues until your Apprentice completes their training.

An Incentive Payment

You can apply for an incentive payment of £3,000 for new Apprentices who join your business.

To be eligible, the Apprentices must both:

• start their employment at your business between 1 October 2021 and 31 January 2022; and
• start their Apprenticeship between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022

The closing date for applications is 15 May 2022.

The incentive payment is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an Apprentice:

Castletons Accountants