Have you heard of the Apprenticeship Incentives Grant? Originally, it was set up by the government to stimulate the economy during COVID, but it only offered a maximum grant of £3,000, and that’s if you were hiring a 16 – 18 year old.
Now, the government has revised the scheme and extended it to September 30th 2021. All businesses are now eligible for the £3,000 grant, no matter what age the apprentice is that they take on.
They can also gain a bonus £1,000 if the apprentice they take on is 16 – 18, and they have less than 50 employees.
This is an incredible boost for businesses who are only just coming out of lockdown measures, and need to hire new starters to get their business back on track. Of course, the best thing is that you get the grant for every single apprentice you take on.
If you’re a business that’s looking to grow or rebuild their team, then it’s really a no-brainer to take advantage of this scheme while you can. It’s unlikely there will be another chance post-September.
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant is Ideal for Restaurants and Pubs
If you’re a restaurant, pub or cafe who had to let go of staff, or found the majority of your team left during lockdown, you might now be facing an incredibly busy period with just the bare bones of your workforce.
It’s highly recommended to take advantage of the scheme in this case. There are plenty of people who unfortunately lost their jobs during the pandemic, and if you can offer a lucrative apprenticeship role where they’ll also gain a qualification, you’ll have no trouble filling those vacancies.
In this scenario, we’d recommend taking on staff as Customer Service Apprentices. You can decide for yourself whether to enrol new starters on to the Level 2 or Level 3 course, the cost is between £3,500 – £4,000 per apprentice – but if you’re a business that has under £3million in payroll bills (only 2% of all UK businesses meet this threshold), then the government will fund 95% of that bill in the vast majority of cases. That means the total cost of the entire qualification could be just £175 – £200. You can end up paying more than that just to advertise on a job board.
Not only that, but you’ll also receive your grants, which can be used for anything that supports the costs associated with the apprentice, including:
- Facilities
- Uniforms
- Apprentice Travel
- Contributions to the Apprentice’s Wages
This means in most cases you’ll essentially end up paying considerably less for your apprentice than you would for a full employee, and they’ll benefit from training too.
Training pays for itself aside, a well-trained member of staff will make fewer mistakes, create a positive customer experience leading to customers returning and be much more efficient in their duties. Apprentices are also significantly more likely to stay on board and complete their entire apprenticeship, meaning you’ll have less costs associated with hiring new staff due to low retention.
Working with a Training Provider Means Your Recruitment is Covered
We mentioned earlier that you can spend hundreds just advertising for a new role, if you decide to take on an apprentice through NTG Training however, we’ll manage the entire recruitment process. This could save you a significant amount of money.
You can be as hands-on or hands-off as you like, but rest assured that we have over 10 years experience in hiring the right person for the job. We understand the ideal qualities in an apprentice.
When you work with NTG, we’ll also handle all the grant and funding applications on your behalf, so quite honestly, all you need to do is say “go!”. This can take a huge weight off your mind when you’re already preoccupied with the chaos of reopening from lockdown.
