Government looks to spur apprentice take-up among SMEs
New measures to make it easier for small businesses to recruit apprentices have been introduced by the government in the wake of the Holt Review carried out by jeweller and social entrepreneur Jason Holt.
The measures will see the government work with SME advisors, including lawyers and accountants, to promote apprenticeships to their clients; improve access to apprenticeship training; improve the performance of training providers; and widen the availability of the Apprenticeship AGE (16 – 24) Grant.
The government said its refinements to the £1,500 AGE Grant would involve delivering it in a single payment, rather than the current two. Employers will be able to claim grants for up to 10 apprentices, and the scheme will be opened to employers who have not hired an apprentice in the past year.
Medium sized employers, who have between 250 and 1,000 employees, will also be eligible to claim the grant for apprentices aged 16-24.
Commenting on the review, Lynn Tomkins, operations director at sector skills coucnil Semta, said manufacturing employers would welcome the recommendations.
"The manufacturing industry has a long and proud history of investing in apprenticeship programmes but there are still too few SMEs in the supply chain taking them on," she added.
