£2500 Apprenticeship Grants for Employers – (Scheme name - AGE 16 and 17) 

The National Apprenticeship Service announced in January they would provide up to 5,000 Apprenticeship Grants for Employers of 16 and 17 year olds (AGE 16 and 17) with a value of £2,500 to encourage employers to take on unemployed 16-17 year olds as apprentices. There are a total of 5000 grants available and apprentices must be in place by the 31st March. 

The aim is to support employers who offer new and additional places in support of young people; in particular to support small and medium sized employers who are interested in employing an apprentice for this first time, or who want to employ an additional apprentice over their traditional level of recruitment. Larger employers where they can demonstrate that they are overtraining to support smaller employers in their supply chain/the wider sector or recruiting in excess of their traditional levels of apprentice recruitment. 

The £2,500 grant is in addition to the costs of training which is met by the National Apprenticeship Service. The grant will be available immediately. This initiative is a short-term (available until the end of March 2010) measure and is available now for employers who are able to offer a job opportunity to an unemployed young person aged 16 or 17.  

The payments will be administered by the National Apprenticeship Service through the NAS approved training provider network who will manage the payments and paperwork. Employers will receive the grant in two payments - £1,500 when the young person starts their Apprenticeship and a further £1,000 after 12 weeks. IPS International is an approved training provider.  

Employers will be asked to sign an agreement which commits them to employing a new or additional apprentice in paid employment for the duration of the Apprenticeship training programme. Employers will pay the apprentice at least the minimum Apprenticeship wage of £95 per week, including off the job training. If the apprentice leaves early, the employer will be asked to repay a proportion of the grant.  

Which young people are eligible? 
All 16 and 17 year olds who are not in employment and not already on an Apprenticeship programme are eligible. This includes those who may have had a place in a college or school but have subsequently dropped out. The young person will need to have been recruited and in work before the end of March 2010.