If you hire an apprentice or place a new employee onto an apprenticeship programme, the government will pay you up to £4,000 for doing so. This incentive is in place to drive apprenticeship recruitment, with the government acknowledging the vital role apprentices play in addressing skills shortages across all sectors.
The Government announced in October 2021 that the popular incentive for hiring new apprentices has been extended as part of a £500m investment to tackle unemployment and support job seekers.
A break-down of dates and deadlines is below:
You can apply for apprentices with an employment start date from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022.
They will also need to have an apprenticeship start date from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Applications close on 15 May 2022.
Support your organisation's growth and recruit now
If you’re looking to expand your workforce through apprenticeships, the government will pay you an incentive of £3,000 per employee. What's more, you'll also receive an additional payment of £1,000 if the learner is aged 16 to 18 or 19 to 24 on an Education, Health & Care (EHC) plan or have been in the care of their local authority.
These incentives will only be paid for employees who start their contract of employment with you between 1st October 2021 and 31st January 2022. However, their apprenticeship start date can be up to 31st March 2022, and you will have until 15th May 2022, to apply for your incentive payment.
Incentives are paid in two installments directly to your business bank account by the government. The first payment is issued after 90 days, and the second after 365 days. To claim the full payment, the employee must be in post for a minimum of a year.
You can use it to pay for uniforms, to reimburse travel costs for the apprentice, or you can use it to buy equipment for the organisation. There is no requirement to pay the money back, and no restrictions on how you use it.
Should your apprentice leave their employment with you within the first 90 days of their apprenticeship, you will not receive any part of this incentive. If they leave between 90 to 365 days, you'll receive and keep the first payment, but not the second.
Yes, the incentive payment is available to employers of any size, regardless of whether they are levy-paying or not.
Yes, you receive the incentive payment. The employer of the apprentice is always the recipient of the incentive payments.
Unfortunately not. Training providers are not permitted to apply for these incentives on your behalf. The incentive payment is claimed through your Apprenticeship Service Account (DAS).
Yes, the payment dates are set to those dates regardless of the length of the programme, and are only paid once.
If you'd like to expand your workforce and take advantage of these fantastic government incentives, utilise our complimentary apprentice recruitment service where we will source, pre-screen and qualify candidates on your behalf regardless of seniority.
Please complete the form below and start recruiting today. Alternatively, you can contact our Apprentice Recruitment team by calling 01753 596 004 or by email.
Both the Impact Futures and The Childcare Company brands are used interchangeably for both Impact Futures Training Limited and The Child Care Company (Old Windsor) Limited.
