The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16 to 24 year olds (AGE 16 to 24) aims to support businesses to grow by providing incentives to assist in offering young people employment through the Apprenticeship programme.
The grant targets employers who are new to Apprenticeships and recruiting their first apprentice, and also supports employers who have not been in a position within the previous twelve months to commit to employing an apprentice again.
The National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 Apprenticeship grants to employers with up to 1000 employees recruiting 16 to 24 year olds with a value of £1,500 to encourage 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 and 50% for those aged 19 to 24.
When will this new Apprenticeship
The AGE 16 to 24 grant is available from 1 February 2012 until December 2013 for eligible employers recruiting an apprentice who is aged 16 to 24.
What financial support is available to employers?
The Apprenticeship grant of £1,500 is payable for up to 40,000 eligible employers who commit to employ one or more 16 to 24 year old apprentices (to a maximum of 10 payments).
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The payment is a grant and is exempt from VAT.
Which employers are eligible to receive this new AGE 16 to 24 payment?
The Grant is to support employers with up to 1000 employees and we expect to support up to 40,000 of these employers to recruit an apprentice. Eligible employers are those who have never employed an apprentice or have not done so in the last 12 months.
Very Large employers (more than 1000 employees) are not eligible for support through this initiative. But we do want to encourage take up of eligible businesses within their supply chain.
Subject to budget availability and the employer’s commitment to support the apprentices to the end of their programme, up to 10 grants can be made to any one employer. However, the employer must commit to the total number of apprentices they wish to take on through the grant at the upfront agreement stage.