Make Use of Government Funding.
Currently the funding available for each apprentice the company employees is up to £3,000. You can claim up to £2,000 as an incentive payment if you hire an apprentice that starts with you between now and 31 March 2021.
You’ll have until 30 April 2021 to make the claim. If you do not pay the levy you only pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice. The government will pay the rest (95%) upto the funding band maximum. They will pay it directly to the training provider. You could be eligible for extra funding depending on both your business and your apprentices circumstances.
The incentive payment is in addition to the £1000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice who is:
- aged 16 to 18 years old
- under 25 with an education, health and care plan or has been in the care of their local authority.
Therefore, for apprentices aged
- 16-24, employers will receive additional £2000 (£3000 total)
- 25 and over, employers will receive £1500 (£2500 total)
Strengthen Your Company Brand
Apprenticeships are big news! A company with an apprenticeship programme in place is likely to be viewed as a positive, forward-thinking business, investing in its people and investing in the local area. This can make your company more attractive to prospective talent and become an employer of choice for candidates looking for apprenticeship or more senior positions.
Find the Best New Talent
If your company offers an apprenticeship scheme you will stand out in your local area and attract more of the potential new talent. You will have the choice to add to and help future proof your workforce with an apprentice from the pool of bright and most dedicated Staffordshire jobseekers.
Develop High Calibre Staff
Up-skilling existing staff through an apprenticeship is a great way to ensure your organisation has the capable personnel you need, without resorting solely on new employees.
Well-trained, highly skilled staff add value to all organisations, both directly and through their ability to coach, mentor and train other team members. Build the team you need to meet your business objectives. If you offer an apprentice a new role you can train them to become a highly trained, skilled staff member. This valued and motivated staff member can then move on to coach, mentor and develop other new apprentices of the future.
Motivate and Help Retain Your Current Workforce
By adding an apprentice scheme to your business model this can help motivate your current employees. By helping to organise and develop the skills of the apprentices which will in turn add to long-term commitment of your staff.Having an apprenticeship scheme in place is highly likely to increase your retention rate. Statistics show that trainees tend to be committed to an organisation that has helped them on their career path and to develop. They feel satisfied and engaged with your business, so are considered to stay for longer.
Improve and Develop Skills Within Your Business
In a survey completed by the government it reported that more than 80% of employers had benefited by adding apprentices to their workforce. Most of those companies also highlighted that better quality of service and product had also improved over the same period.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-2017-employers-survey
