Apprenticeship initiative Plan 500 has secured £97,500 to help Swindon businesses recruit young apprentices.
The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is £1,500 for each apprentice taken on, up to a maximum of 10 grants per employer (£15,000).
This is in addition to funding provided for the apprenticeship training itself. Grants are paid to employers in a single lump sum when the apprentice has been in post for 13 weeks.
The grant is available to local businesses:
• who employ 1,000 people or less;
• who have not taken on an apprentice in the last 12 months; and
• who are interested in recruiting young people aged between 16 and 24 as apprentices
The grant, which is available until March 2013, is provided by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). Further information can be obtained by telephoning Forward Swindon on 01793 429250 and from the National Apprenticeship Service website.
