Get a £1,500 grant when you take on your first apprentice

Hugh Baird College has helped hundreds of people complete apprenticeships and progress on to become an important part of the workforce.

The training for 16-18 year olds is free and if you employ less than 250 staff you may qualify for a new £1,500 grant, from the National Apprenticeship Service, to help you take on your first apprentice.

The new Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is now available for employers of 16 to 24 year olds. The grant is aimed at helping eligible employers to offer young people employment through the Apprenticeship programme, by providing wage grants to assist employers in recruiting their first apprentice.

The National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 Apprenticeship grants to small to medium sized employers recruiting 16 to 24 year olds with a value of £1,500 to encourage new employers to take on new apprentices.

The £1,500 is in addition to the training costs of the Apprenticeship framework which are met in full for young people aged 16 to 18.

What financial support is available to employers?
A new Apprenticeship grant of £1,500 is payable in two instalments for employers who commit to employ one or more 16 to 24 year old apprentices for the first time.
The payment is a grant and is exempt from VAT.

What is an employer’s commitment?
Employers will sign an agreement which will include:

• Confirmation of the number of apprentices they will be taking on as a result of this incentive (to a maximum of 3)
• Confirmation that they wouldn’t have taken the apprentice on without this additional incentive
• A commitment to employ the apprentice for at least the time it takes to achieve the Apprenticeship framework. If they fail to do this, some or all the wage allowance will be clawed back
• Confirmation that they are aware of and do not breach any state aid rules
• Agreement to pay the minimum Apprenticeship wage of £2.60 per hour – although this is a minimum and most employers pay more
• Confirmation that they have not taken on an apprentice in the previous three years*
  *Please note that the grant is not eligible if the employer employs an apprentice with an Individual Learning Record (ILR) start date of April 2009 or after.

To check if you are eligible and to apply for AGE 16 to 24 you can:

• Contact Lesley, Mark or Neil in the Business Development Unit at Hugh Baird College on 0151 353 4456
• Alternatively call the National Apprenticeship Service on 08000 150 600 and an adviser from the National Apprenticeship Service will contact you to discuss the support available in more detail.