'A Plan for Jobs’ Extended
Following on from the recent Government Budget 2021, it was announced that extra money was available for the apprentice cohort from April 2021 onwards on top of the total package of support amounting to £30 billion made last year. As part of the economic response to coronavirus, the government launched ‘A Plan for Jobs’ and subsequently, this has been extended out with further incentives for employers also.
As we have seen in our working lives, the pandemic has accelerated the switch to Digital by 4-6 years as noted by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and remote working “Zoom like” meetings are now the new-norm.
With Digital and Management skill gaps being discussed in many media forums, now is the time to take a look at apprenticeships that are vocationally aligned with industry and their employees, to positively impact job roles and workplaces in the UK.
Incentives for 2021
You might be thinking what incentives are now available to employers and why is it important to invest in your new and current staff, so we wanted to summarise this for you in 3 snappy salient points of what’s new and available for you:-
1. Doubled incentives no matter what the apprentice’s age
Extended in 2021 from incentives laid out last year, when an employer hires a new apprentice between 1st April 2021 and 30th September 2021 they will receive £3,000 per new hire and this is now regardless of the apprentice’s age and is an extension of what was put in place last year.
Also importantly, all incentive payments set to end have now been extended for a further six months to September 2021.
Employers can apply for incentive payments for apprentices from 1st April 2021 via their apprenticeship service account. The government has stated that employers “can spend the payment on anything to support their organisation’s costs and they do not have to pay it back”.
Are you new to apprenticeships?
Remember apprenticeships are more than that traditional view that was instilled at one time; they now cover all ages, different learning levels and more importantly, are used to upskill current staff as a great retention tool.
Also, check out our “How To Claim Your Apprenticeship Incentive Grant download which you can read at any time”
2. SMEs able to up-skill accessing ‘Help to Grow’ scheme
Just like apprenticeships, new courses are being offered as part of a new UK-wide programme to up-skill 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises over the next three years.
This scheme has meant that the government has set aside £60 million for this scheme in 2021-22 and then £75 million for 2022-23.
In the meantime..
If you are in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire under the D2N2 banner, then take a look at the new Digital Bootcamps that Ascento are launching again. This course is fully funded for residents within this area through the Local Enterprise Partnership and gives 3 hours of specialist support per week across a 12 week period covering all the main Digital topics to hit the ground running.
Places are still available and there’s still time to sign up!
3.Apprentices learn without the debt
Apprenticeships are funded from contributions made by the government and your employer. This means students will not have any student loans or tuition fees to pay out for. Non-levy paying business will need to contribute 5% towards the cost of the required apprenticeship and the government will pay the remaining 95%.
To find out more about Ascento and our learning programmes, download a copy of our programme prospectus here. We are so proud of our learning organisation and all it incorporates.
