East Riding College is urging employers to take advantage of grants of £1,500 which are available for taking on new apprentices.
The incentives are available for small to medium sized employers – those with fewer than 250 employees – who take on an apprentice aged 16 to 24.
The government’s support for apprenticeships means they are heavily subsidised. The training cost for 16 to 18-yearold apprentices is zero and for adults it can be as little as £250, maybe less, and the special wage rate introduced by the government means they can be employed from £2.60 per hour (for time at work and College attendance).
Rachael Owen, the College’s business development manager, said:
“Taking on an apprentice makes absolute business sense. That’s why so many are choosing the apprenticeship route to train their new or existing employees.”
“Apprentices spend the bulk of their working week doing their job, learning the skills that are essential to your business and they will work towards an NVQ, which will assess their ability to do the work, and also a technical certificate, which tests their knowledge of the subject.”
East Riding College has an established network for advertising apprenticeship vacancies to attract the best possible candidates. This includes help with advertising, shortlisting and selecting the most promising people to ensure the apprentice is hard-working, conscientious and a credit to their new employer.”
The apprentice grant is paid in two instalments: £750 after eight weeks of training and £750 on completion of the apprenticeship framework and it can be claimed for up to three new apprentices, as long as the employer has not had an apprentice in the past three years. Other terms and conditions apply.
For more information, call East Riding College on 0845 120 0037 and ask for business development or email
business.development@eastridingcollege.ac.uk
