Grants and funding
Apprentices are a fantastic addition to the workforce and with financial support available there has never been a better time to recruit!
If you’re not sure where to start, our team of experts are on hand to help. Simply fill in the enquiry form on this page and we’ll be in touch!
Apprenticeship Incentives
- Apprenticeship Incentives
- The Government has introduced significant new incentives to support employers, particularly those recruiting younger learners.
New employer incentives
- £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months
- £2,000 incentive for SMEs recruiting apprentices aged 16–24
- These new schemes are part of a wider national investment in youth employment and skills, designed to help employers build strong early-career pipelines.
Existing apprenticeship incentives
- Employers can also receive:
- £1,000 payment for:
- Apprentices aged 16–18
- Apprentices aged 19–24 with an Education, Health and Care Plan
- Apprentices aged 19–24 who have previously been in care
Payments are made in two instalments:
- 50% after 90 days in learning
- 50% after 365 days
There is no limit to how many eligible incentive payments an employer can claim.
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Reserving Apprenticeship funding through the Apprenticeship Service
The Apprenticeship Service is designed to help employers access new apprenticeship standards, training providers and funding for apprenticeships through an online service account.
The Apprenticeship Service puts employers in control and allows you to reserve funding for apprenticeship training. It also allows you to choose the type of apprenticeships you want to start, the number of apprentices you take on, and the training provider that suits your needs.
By reserving funding in this way the Government will transfer 95% of the cost to the chosen provider and you (the employer) will fund the remaining 5% as your contribution.
Extra support for small employers
(Fewer than 50 staff)
Employers with fewer than 50 people working for them will not have to pay the 5% co-investment fee for an apprentice who is aged between:
- 16 – 18 years old
- 19 – 24 years old and who has previously been in care or who has an Education, Health and Care plan provided by their local authority
3 step registration process
- Create user account
- Add PAYE
- Confirm organisation
Once you have set up your account you’ll need to reserve funding.
- Which apprenticeship standard will be chosen
- What month the apprenticeship training will start
Before the apprentice starts their training, you can change the apprenticeship start date and standard.
The reserved funds are available to use from the month of the apprenticeship start date and the following 2 months.
The reservation will expire at the end of the 3rd month if you do not use it.
There are 3 funding statuses:
- Active: You’ve reserved funds, but have not added or saved the apprentice’s details (if you can see ‘add apprentice details’ in your account, then the reservation is ‘active’).
- Used: You’ve reserved funds and added the apprentice’s details.
- Expired: You did not add or save the apprentice’s details to a reservation within the 3 months that the reservation covers
You choose January as the apprenticeship training start date. The funding reservation is valid for January, February and March and expires on 1st April.
To stop the reserved funds from expiring, you need to add apprentice details.