Cash incentives for apprenticeships up to £4,000 until September end

The available cash on offer to businesses looking at apprenticeships as a means to grow talent in-house will now run at as much as £4,000 per apprentice until September 30th.

In addition to pre-existing incentives in place, the Government has introduced new funding grants during the pandemic for employers taking on new apprentices.

The additional apprenticeship financial incentives were first announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak back in July of 2020 and currently offer firms £2,000 to take on apprentices aged 16 to 24, while those that employ new apprentices aged 25 and over can receive £1,500. These bonuses were initially set to end this month.

However, during the Budget at the beginning the month Sunak announced an extension and increase to these incentives. This means that from 1st April 2021 until 30th September 2021 employers who take on a new apprentice of any age will receive an incentive payment of £3,000, superseding the current incentives.

This runs alongside an existing £1,000 payment provided or new apprenticeships signed up to by those aged 16 to 18. pr those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.

The Association of Cycle Traders flag their services delivered through the Activate Cycle Academy, whose Cytech training is available to bike shops taking on youth talent.

On offer from the academy are Cytech’s Theory One and the Technical two and Technical three qualifications, as well as topics such as e-Bikes, business studies, customer service and advanced selling skills should you prefer to recruit staff to the shop floor.

Employers interested in taking on a cycle mechanic apprentice, or those who would like to learn more about the recent Government funding incentive details should contact ACA on 01865 550 324, or email cycles@activatelearning.ac.uk.

A round up of the UK bike industry’s available training academies can be found here.