Grant for Employers

Government’s Small Employer incentive scheme of £1500

The new scheme to help small employers take on a young apprentice will commence on the 1st February 2012 and is called the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE)

The NAS will oversee the management of the 40,000 grants, but expect providers to administer the payment transactions to employers and recoup their costs via the monthly claim to the SFA.

The AGE 16 to 24 year olds is aimed at helping eligible employers to offer young people employment through the Apprenticeship programme, by providing wage grants to assist employers in recruiting their first apprentice.

The National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 Apprenticeship grants to small medium sized employers recruiting 16 to 24 year olds with a value of £1,500 to encourage new employers to take on new apprentices.

A summary of the eligibility criteria is below:-

• The company must employ less than 250 people
• This must be the first time the company has employed an apprentice
• The apprentice must be aged between 16 and 24
• Subject to availability an employer can get 3 grants for 3 apprentices
• The employer must commit to employ the apprentice for the duration of their training
• The employer must commit to pay the apprentice the minimum apprentice wage of £2.60 per hour


To read the NAS fact sheet click here.


Marketing this offer to small employers

Why not offer to do a presentation on this scheme to your local small business networks where you can meet local employers, tell them about the scheme and have the opportunity of chatting to them about how this could help their business during these challenging economic times? This approach takes you to them instead of inviting them to come to you. You could look at networking events such as chamber of commerce, confederation of small business, Institute of Directors as well as guest speaking at professional bodies who represent business and you could select the body that specialises in your local market whether that’s automotive manufacturing or creative design there are hundreds of professional bodies, a comprehensive list is available from Wikipedia.


For further information on this grant call the National Apprenticeship Service on 08000 150 600 or visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk

For advice on how to market to small companies get in touch with Fiona who is a professional small business marketer on 01788 834669 or e-mail her fiona@smartassessor.com and she would be happy to pass on her tips.

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