The government set out ambitious plans to rebuild the economy beyond the coronavirus pandemic, with significant incentives available to employers; encouraging them to hire new apprentices and trainees.

Grants available 

To help businesses' recover from Covid-19, Rishi Sunak has announced that for the next six months, the Government will pay employers to hire apprentices, with a new payment of £2,000 per apprentice for those under the age of 25 and £1,500 for those aged 25 and over. This money is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the Government already provides for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care plan.

Who can claim?

The grants are available to both levy and non-levy paying employers, but claims can only be made for new apprentices who start between 1st August 2020 and 31st January 2021. New apprentices cannot be existing employees but can be existing apprentices who have been made redundant by another employer – allowing access to a wider talent pool. 

Using the grant

Employers can use the incentive funding to help meet any of the costs associated with supporting a new apprentice in their workplace: including facilities, uniforms, and apprentice travel. It can also contribute to meeting the costs of an apprentice’s wages. Individual employers can choose how to spend the money to support their apprentices depending on their individual circumstances.

Grant payments

The money will be paid in instalments, with 50% of the total paid at roughly 90 days from the apprentice’s start date, and the remaining 50% paid roughly 365 days from the apprentice’s start date, subject to the apprentice still being in employment (with the same employer) and undertaking their apprenticeship at these times.

Making a grant claim

You must have a registered account through the apprenticeship service which our team can provide further guidance on. Only employers with a registered apprenticeship service account will be eligible for grant payments, the registration process for the apprenticeship service has recently been streamlined to minimise the administrative burden for employers.

For free advice on the apprenticeship grants available to your business, complete the form at the bottom of the page and a member of our team will contact you. 

The government is also injecting £111 million of funding into traineeships across England. Incentivising employers with £1,000 for every trainee they provide with a high-quality work placement for up to 12 months. This is an opportunity to give young people a chance of improving their skills and future employment prospects. 

At Mantra Learning, we have been running a Pathway to Apprenticeship programme since they began in 2014 and have successfully provided young people with a route on to an apprenticeship in automotive & logistics year-on-year.

The Pathway to Apprenticeship programme is a government-funded traineeship model and prepares young people with the skills, knowledge and behaviours expected in the workplace, whilst helping businesses to nurture and grow their own talent pipeline.

This grant is available in addition to the apprenticeship grants outlined above, but further details on changes to traineeships are yet to be released. Our business improvement team can provide further support with any of your queries. 

Complete this form for more information.