Small and medium sized employers looking to offer
apprenticeships in England have been given a boost as the National
Apprenticeship Service announces moves to help even more employers recruit an
apprentice.
The government has confirmed an extension of the
Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16-24 year olds (AGE 16-24) to March
2014. The £1,500 grant is available to
help businesses with fewer than 1000 employees take on an apprentice.
Initially only on offer during the 2012/13 financial year,
the funding has been extended following a positive response from
employers. It has also been increased,
so eligible employers can claim the grant for up to ten apprentices.
Business Secretary, Vince Cable said: “I know it can be a
big decision for busy, small companies to take on an apprentice. Employers may
be concerned about the time recruitment and training will take, and anxious
about how it will work. So the £1500
grant is a token to acknowledge this and thank employers. I hope many more
people will take us up on our cash incentive to grow their business, and train
up the workforce of the future.”
The announcement times with the start of a new nationwide
radio advertising campaign to encourage more employers to take on an apprentice
and to highlight the availability of the AGE grant.
The National Apprenticeship Service adverts, which will run
across national and regional commercial stations in January and February, reinforce
the quality of Apprenticeships and how they are helping businesses to grow.
This is done through the personal accounts of eight employers: Mediacom, J A
Cliff Building Services, North York Moors National Park, FCO Services, Barlows
UK Ltd, Visa Europe, TMB Patterns and Persona HR.
David Way, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship
Service, said: “We know that many businesses believe Apprenticeships deliver
the skills needed for growth so we are delighted AGE 16-24 has been positively
received by employers for helping them to do just that.
“Apprenticeships come with a guarantee of quality, giving
young people a job with training, and are proven to deliver a significant
return on investment, so this really is a win-win initiative for employers.
There has never been a better time to recruit an apprentice, so I hope more
organisations will look at how they can benefit from this grant over the coming
12 months and reap the rewards of a more motivated, skilled and qualified
workforce.”
Dr Tehir Nadeem, owner of the Solihull Dental Practice, who
was one of the first small businesses to benefit from the AGE 16-24 grant,
said: “AGE 16-24 has made the worthwhile decision to hire an apprentice even
more cost effective. The grant helped meet the costs of taking on a new member
of staff; in effect the grant is being re-invested into the business, to help
it grow.”
Furthermore, David Barlow, training & development
director at Barlows UK, a medium sized enterprise that features in the radio
campaign, said: “Apprenticeships provide a great opportunity to bring
enthusiastic young people in to a business and train them with the skills that
exactly meet the organisation’s needs. Apprentices are a true asset to our
workforce and I passionately believe more employers should hire them.”
And to further support businesses, the National
Apprenticeship Service has announced a minimum level of support employers can
expect from the Service. A new Service Standard offers an end-to-end commitment
by NAS to responsiveness during initial call handling, to analysing need,
referral to providers and an after-service follow up review from their
dedicated team.
Providers who receive referrals as part of the service from
the NAS will by implication also be signing up to the minimum expectations
especially in terms of responding promptly to the referred employers, posting
information to the Apprenticeship vacancies system and in terms of ongoing
support that will be monitored by NAS.
Source: 9 January 2013, Training Zone by John Kennard
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