BMF Apprenticeships Plus is urging BMF members in England to take advantage of the government’s temporary boost to apprenticeship funding, with incentive grants for employers increasing to £3,000 for apprentices of any age.
The £3,000 grant will be paid to any employer hiring a new apprentice between 1 April and 30 September, 2021.
The increase was announced in the Chancellor’s Budget speech, as one of the measures to boost job opportunities. Previously, firms in England received £2,000 for each new apprentice under the age of 25 and £1,500 for those over 25.
The new £3,000 cash grant is on top of the £1,000 age incentive already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18, which means that some employers could receive £4,000 in total.
Carmen Daley, operations manager at BMF Apprenticeships Plus, said: “This is a fantastic time for BMF merchant and supplier members to recruit an apprentice. Our sector has remained busy throughout the current health crisis, whilst others have, unfortunately, been forced to make redundancies. And with a new cohort of school and college leavers seeking their first jobs in a few months’ time, this really is a perfect time to use the BMF Apprenticeships Plus service to secure a new member of staff.”
Carmen added: “The BMF Apprenticeships Plus service is designed to remove potential administrative hurdles and make it easy for BMF members to take on apprentices in any job role. They can even employ an apprentice on a member’s behalf and take responsibility for all associated administration. In this circumstance, the cash incentive will be passed back to the BMF member, offering the best of both worlds.
“Employers can also claim the grant for existing employees. As long as they have worked in your business for less than six months, you will be able to switch them to an apprenticeship, which could be a good way to upskill your team and keep them engaged.”
Although this grant is only available to employers in England, each of the Devolved Nations offers different incentive programmes to encourage apprenticeships.
For more information call Carmen Daley on 07496 370 224 or email carmen@bmfapprenticeshipsplus.co.uk.
