Simpler apprenticeship grants a welcome boost
The recent Government announcement making apprenticeship grants available to more employers will give a boost to SMEs in the building-services engineering sector according to SummitSkills. Announced by Skills Minister John Hayes in response to the Holt Review, the Government is relaxing the restrictions on its Apprenticeship Grants for Employers (AGE) scheme to enable SMEs which have never previously taken on apprentices to benefit from £1500 financial support.
Payments that used to be made in two instalments will now be made all at one, and employers can claim grants for up to 10 new apprentices.
Keith Marshall, OBE, chief executive of SummitSkills, said, ‘These changes to the AGE scheme will contribute to the creation of more apprenticeships, and we welcome the Government’s quick action in response to the findings of the Holt Review.’
He added, ‘Our sector needs to invest in creating a pipeline of talented people to protect its future, but this is a difficult message for many employers to hear at the moment when they are under such financial pressure. Easier access to this grant may well be the catalyst to tip an employer’s decision towards taking on an apprentice as an investment for the future.’
