Government grants for apprenticeships expanded as more is done to encourage apprenticeships

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has announced that it will expand access to its additional grants to encourage more SMEs to take on apprentices. The announcement comes as the government also puts in a number of plans in place to encouage business to use the apprentcship route to take on new staff.

A grant of £1,500 is available for employers with up to 1000 staff (up from the previous 250 staff max) and is in additon to the funding provided by government to cover the course costs for an apprenticeship. Restrictions do apply, as the grant is only available to those that have not employed an apprentice in the last 12 months.

The grant is part of a wider intiative to try and get both employers and employees-to-be to enage with apprenticeships. Other measures being introduced by government include:

• Improving communication about schemes through groups who advise small and medium employers, including lawyers and accountants.
• Better information for businesses on getting the right type of training for their apprentices.
• New standards for training providers in order to improve their performance.

BWF members have a strong tradition of taking on apprentices, so many may find that are not eligible for this grant, however, those registered and in-scope of CITB-ConstructionSkills can access grants of up to £10,250 for a three year apprentice, and members should use our funding search tool (log in above and select from the left-hand menu) to see if there additional grant available locally.

The BWF has a range of resources to help you take on an apprentice – take a look at our employer guides for England, Scotland and Wales. We will shortly be launching some guidance for potential apprentices.