Employing Apprentices: What Financial Support Can You Get?

Did you know, for a limited time you can access a financial incentive to support taking on an apprentice?

To help businesses and the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic the Government introduced new financial incentives, which were increased further from April 2021.

For all employers who hire a new apprentice between 01 April 2021 and 30 September 2021, and the apprentice has started on their apprenticeship during this period, the following incentives apply:
• 16-24 year old – £3,000
• 25+ year old – £3,000

These are in addition to the existing extra financial support for small employers.

Previous incentives apply for all employers who hired a new apprentice between 01 August 2020 and 31 March 2021:
• 16-24 year old – £2,000
• 25+ year old – £1,500

These incentives can only be claimed by the employer using their Apprenticeship Service Account. The ESFA makes the payments directly to the employer in two instalments: first payment after the apprentice has been in training for 90 days and second payment made if the apprentice is still in training after 365 days.
How does Cambridge Regional College support apprenticeships?

CRC can support your business through the entire process, from advertising an apprentice position, to securing funding and assessing apprentices in the workplace.

Recruiting an apprentice:

CRC has a dedicated Business Development team who can work with employers to assess the business needs and assist in recruiting a suitable apprentice.
• Apprentices have to carry out certain responsibilities in the workplace to qualify, our business development team can do a skills scan with the employer to build a relevant job description and responsibility for the apprentice.
• CRC provides a free recruitment service which includes advertising your vacancy on our website, interviewing applicants, and testing their literacy and numeracy skills.
• CRC is a large Further Education College with an extensive vocational full-time programme meaning that we can identify suitable apprentices from an existing pool of candidates.

We can be as involved as much or as little as you wish, taking the stress out of recruitment.

Support with funding:

CRC has an apprentice funding advisor who can support employers in understanding and accessing funding.
• CRC also has a business support advisor who is there to hand hold any employers who are new to having an apprentice and needs additional support with paperwork, concerns and troubleshooting.

Funding for Training and Assessment Costs

All employers who recruit new apprentices, or put existing employees onto an apprenticeship, are able to access the funding, which is passed to the Training Provider, in one of the following ways:

1. From the apprenticeship levy, which was introduced in April 2017. This is a tax paid by employers that have a payroll of more than £3 million per year.
2. From Government funding for 95% of the value of the apprenticeship and 5% contribution by non-levy paying employers with 50 or more employees for a 19+ year old apprentice.
3. From Government funding for 100% of the value of the apprenticeship for small employers with fewer than 50 people for:
   • 16-18-year-old apprentice
   • 19-24-year-old apprentice who has an EHC plan OR has been in the care of the local authority.
   Extra financial support
4. There is an incentive of £1,000 for small employers recruiting a 16-18 year old, or 19-24 year old with an Educational Health Care plan or has been in the care of the local authority. Payment of this financial support is in two instalments of £500 at the following qualifying periods; after the apprentice has been in training for 90 days and if the apprentice is still in training after 365 days.
5. These payments come from the Government via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to the Training Provider who passes them onto the employer.
   What is an Apprenticeship Service Account?
   Levy-paying employers already have a Digital Apprenticeship Service Account (DAS) that allows them to manage and spend the funds on training and assessing their apprentices.
   From 01 April 2021, every employer must have an Apprenticeship Service Account. This will then allow the management of funds just like levy-payers and allow employers to claim for the new incentives introduced since August 2020.

The link below gives further information on setting up the account:
How to register and use the apprenticeship service as an employer – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk