The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has announced a new initiative called the Age 16-24 Grant which is an award of £1,500 to be given to small and medium sized employers who have either not employed an apprentice at all or have not done so since April 2009. The Grant is intended to attract new employers to offer Apprenticeships to an older age-group for the first time or incentivise those employers who have previously employed apprentices but have not done so for a while.
Commenting Oliver Heald said, “This is a fantastic initiative to encourage employers to take on apprentices. We have already seen how popular apprenticeships have become but I do realise that it is not always financially possible for employers to offer them, even if they want to. I hope that by introducing this grant, unlike before, it will suddenly become a lot more viable for businesses to take on apprentices.”
Notes to Editors:
Details of apprenticeships can be found at: www.apprenticeships.org.uk or by calling the Apprenticeship helpline on 08000 150 600.
Businesses might also be interested in The Skills Show which is taking place in November 2012, details about which can be found at www.theskillshow.com